Five Days
by accioremote7
Summary: "Five days." He said finally. "You give me five days to make you fall for me. And I get to do whatever I want with you, for those days." "And what do you get if you win?" She asked uncertainly. He held a small smile. "I get you." L/J
1. The Bet

**A/N: **Hello! Yes I know this is another totally different story, and I really have no business starting this when I still currently have two unfinished and still in the process, but that's all IRRELEVANT.

This is only going to be a 7 or 8 chaptered jily fic, and I'm posting it just because.

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

**"The Bet"**

* * *

"Merlin's beard!" Mary MacDonald exclaimed in the relatively quiet Gryffindor common room. Beside her, her best friends Lily Evans and Marlene McKinnon jumped at this outburst.

"What?" hissed Lily, a little annoyed to be roused from her reading of _Explorations in Advanced Potion making._

"Sorry." Mary said, face a little pink as those who were sitting at the tables next to them glared at her, and then returned to their work. Due to the fact that the library was currently closed for re-stocking, students were frantically looking for places to study.

"It's just that… I thought was writing all the uses of the Black-fire potion, but I was really looking at the list of uses for the Fire-replenishing potion." She fretted. "I've got to get down to Slughorn's. He has the right book in his classroom I think."

With that, she scooped up her bag and ran out the portrait hole.

"He's doing it again." Marlene whispered to Lily, pushing her long blond hair behind her ear.

Lily brought her green eyes off the page to face her best friend.

"What?"

"Staring at you." She hissed, cocking her head inconspicuously towards the sparse bookcases in the corner of the common room.

Lily slowly turned toward the direction Marlene was staring.

Sure enough, she found a pair of hazel eyes staring back at her.

The hazel eyes belonged to a boy by the name of James Potter, the long-time bane of Lily's existence (and more recently, her co-Head and, much to her chagrin, _friend_).

He smiled back at her, while at his side, his best friend Sirius Black was trying to recount a seemingly exciting story. Their other friends, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew leaned against the bookcases behind them, half-listening and half-looking for a book in the stacks.

Pre-seventh year, she could often find the boy staring at her. However, when they created a kind of symbiotic relationship at the beginning of this year, due to the fact that they were chosen as Head boy and girl, he had taken to having civil conversations with her. This was quite different from his previous behavior of taunting her, sending her gifts publicly, pulling pranks on her, and staring at her constantly.

This is why it surprised her greatly to watch him exhibiting such an "old-James" habit.

She raised her eyebrow at him, which caused him to bark out a laugh and move from across the room to where she was sitting.

"Hi Evans." He said in his low voice, taking the seat that Mary was previously occupying.

"You should probably look into that staring problem." Lily said. She leaned into him, and whispered, "It's starting to freak people out."

Marlene guffawed loudly from beside her.

He straightened up. "Didn't know you cared so much."

He'd caught her there. It had always been like this between the two of them, a battle of wits.

They were caught in a staring contest, silently daring the other to break first.

Marlene coughed. "Well, I'm going to go." She said, chair making a scraping noise as she exited the table.

Lily was the one who finally looked away. "Come now Potter, you know I couldn't care less about you."

He smirked. "_Puh-lease_ Evans, you can't deny that we're friends."

She rolled her eyes but didn't say anything.

"And you know what I think?" He asked.

She said nothing.

"I think that if you actually gave me the chance, you'd fall _madly in love with me_."

She burst out into laughter, throwing her head back against the back of the chair and laughing so loudly she was thrown multiple death glares from around the room.

"Laugh if you will." He said, taking off his glasses and polishing them on his shirt. He smiled calmly and put them back on. "But it's true."

Still tittering a little bit, she rested her head on her hand. "Wow Potter. You've got a bigger head then I thought."

"You think you'd be able to resist me Evans?" He countered.

"Somehow I'd find a way." She said dryly.

"See, I don't think you could." His face suddenly stretched into a smile. "Care to bet on it?"

"Oh Potter, you don't want to do that." She said, waving her hand noncommittally.

"Why? Because you might actually give in?"

She sighed dramatically. "It's not really a fair bet. It'd be like taking candy from a baby."

He just smiled cajolingly "I think you're just scared."

Her smile fell into a straight line. "Why would I be _scared_?"

"You're scared that you might actually find that you like me." He said evenly.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Alright Potter, if you're so intent on losing money, _let's do it_."

He waggled his eyebrows.

"Ugh, stop it." She said, huffing angrily. "So, what're the conditions?"

He thought for a moment.

"Five days." He said finally. "You give me five days, and I get to do _whatever _I want with you."

She rolled her eyes. "Potter, I'm not going to agree to that. I'm not that stupid."

"Why not Evans?" He asked innocently.

"Because it'll give you the right to grope me at every turn."

He exhaled. "Fine. I'll do no physical things, unless you give permission. Ok?"

_Yeah, like I'd ever give permission for Potter to grope me. As if. _She thought.

"And what do you get if you win?" She asked uncertainly.

He held a small smile. "I get you."

Something in Lily's stomach flipped, but she ignored it.

"And if I win?"

He looked at her seriously. "I'll stop bothering you. We'll only ever talk for Heads Duties and that's it."

For some strange reason, the thought of the absence Potter's incessant bothering made Lily a little uneasy.

But she replied, "Oh Merlin, this is going to be so easy."

"It'll start next Friday, then." He said.

"You're staying over Christmas?" She asked incredulously.

His lips curved downwards. "Yeah. My parents are off on an Auror mission. So I've got to stay here. You're staying too, right?"

"Yes, unfortunately." She said curtly.

He smiled again. "Alright Evans, do we have a deal?" He asked, leaning back in his chair. He sat, arms folded across his chest, eyes challenging her.

She knew she should have thought rationally about this. But something about proving him wrong made her desperately want to agree.

He held out his hand, which she gripped back.

"Deal."

* * *

**Review please! **


	2. Day 1

**A/N: ohmybabyjeebus. 13 reviews. For the first chapter. Which contained almost nothing. What the actual fuck.**

**Thank you, thank you, **_**thank you**_** to everyone who reviewed. It makes me feel happy inside!**

And I know every single animate object reading this will review after, because you're all beautiful lovely life forms.

Lastly, without further ado, here is Day #1 of the bet!

* * *

**Day 1**

* * *

On Friday the twenty-second of December, James Potter woke up in the Gryffindor boys dormitory with a huge grin on his face.

"Oi mate, wipe that giant smile off your face." A voice said from his left. The voice belonged to Sirius Black, who was currently leaning against his bedpost and smirking at him. "It's creepy."

"Can't help it." James said, unable to keep the goofy expression off his features.. "Today's the first day."

He propped himself up, and looked out the window. The sun was out (it was still freezing though), the birds were chirping (well, not really, they'd all already migrated south for the winter), and the universe was seemed to be smiling down on him.

"Ah yes, today is day one of "Evans week". Have fun." Sirius said sarcastically, stretching his arms up over his head and grunting a little bit.

"I will."

"You'd better. I hope she's worth ditching your best mate while he sits in an empty dorm room contemplating his multiple family issues." Sirius said, walking towards the bathroom.

James just rolled his eyes and climbed out of bed.

"You'll find something to do. Come on mate, help me out. Give me some advice, or something!"

Sirius exhaled loudly, but walked over to where James was leaning, and grabbed both his shoulders.

"Ok you tosspot, here's some wise words: don't fuck up." He said, before roughly patting him on the cheek, and walking into the bathroom.

This, miraculously, didn't calm James one bit.

Shoving his glasses onto his face, he washed up and prepared for the day.

He paced a few times back and forth, seemingly not able to sit still. How could he? He was about to spend a full day with lovely Lily Evans. In fact, he was about to spend a whole _week _with lovely Lily Evans.

* * *

On the other side of the Gryffindor dorms, Lily Evans sat up, wide awake in her bed, clutching her legs to her chest.

Why in hell had she agreed to this? Maybe it was because of the way he was looking at her. She always seemed to go soft lately when he did that.

She pounded the bed with her hand angrily.

She didn't want to do this. She didn't want to spend this much time _alone _with _James Potter_.

Maybe if she stayed up in her room all day, she wouldn't have to. She thanked Merlin none of the other girls from her dorm were staying over the holidays.

If she holed herself up, he couldn't get to her.

Yes! That'd be perfect!

_Though, _she thought. _How long can I go without food?_

Her stomach rumbled. She looked down and glared at it.

She threaded her hands through her hair in annoyance as she rose from her bed.

Technically, she didn't need to dress in school robes. School wasn't in, and most people didn't wear it during the holidays. She sighed looking at her collection of muggle clothes.

Eventually, she extracted a dark green sweater and a pair of jeans, and moved to the bathroom.

She scrubbed her teeth, like she did every morning.

She contemplated digging out the mascara she kept in the bottom of her trunk, but shook her head at herself.

_It's just Potter. Why are you making an effort?_

She scoffed at herself.

Pulling on shoes, she left the dorm.

Waiting at the bottom of the stairs, unfortunately, was the last person she wanted to see.

* * *

He had to hold himself down in his seat when he saw her.

_Calm down, Potter_. He told himself.

_Merlin, she looked so _pretty. He thought as she descended down the stairs towards him. Her hair was loose and wavy, and she was wearing muggle clothes that hugged her in places her school robes didn't allow to be shown.

Gulping slightly, he collected himself. "Evans." He said, rising out of the chair.

She stared stonily back at him.

"Potter." She huffed. "So, what are we going to do today?"

A giant grin set over his mouth.

"We are going on a _date_." He said, carefully articulating every syllable.

How good it felt to say those words.

Her lips pressed together in a white line, and her eyes shone with annoyance.

"Well, I'm going to need some breakfast first if I'm ever going to survive today." She said, glaring at him.

He kept his smile.

"Of course." He said.

Together, much to Lily's annoyance, they walked down to breakfast. Actually, it was more like Lily speed walked there, with James at her heels.

There were very few students in the Great Hall for breakfast that day. The tables seemed bare, only lined with a few clusters of students hunched over their plates.

Lily sat down quickly, watching a plate appear in front of her. Due to the cause of James sitting down as close as her physically could next to her, she decided to take a few extra pieces of bacon to calm herself.

To make matters worse, Sirius Black seemed to materialize across the table from her.

"Hello Evans." He said with contempt. "Excited for your day?"

She bit into a piece of bacon with such force that it caused an extremely audible crunch, which made James flinch and Sirius smirk larger.

"Ecstatic." She mumbled.

* * *

Breakfast ended, and James quickly hurried her out, pulling her along down the corridors. She followed relunctantly, though part of her was quite interested in where he was taking her.

James Potter was a Marauder, and him and his friends always seemed to be talking about the adventures they'd gone on, the pranks they'd pulled, the things they'd done. She'd always sat at a safe distance, listening in as close as she could without seeming obvious.

If she was going to admit one thing, James Potter was indeed interesting.

They kept walking until they were standing in front of the stairs leading up the Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom.

"Potter, what are we doing here?" She asked uncertainly, stepping up the first stair of the staircase.

He grabbed her wrist. "No, come here."

Her heart fluttered a little bit as he pulled her down. He lead her down behind the stairs, to the witch statue sitting at the bottom.

She stared at it, and then back at him.

"What?"

He smiled mischievously back at her. He took out his wand, and touched the hump of the witch, saying, "Dissendium".

Right before her eyes, she watched the statue open to reveal a dark passageway. She couldn't help her mouth dropping open.

James started walking inside the extremely dark passageway before he realized she wasn't behind him.

She heard him whisper, "Lumos" and then saw a ray of blue light protracting from the darkness.

Turning around, she saw his face light up, and he was staring at her expectantly. "Well? Come on then."

Still a little dumbfounded, Lily followed him inside. She walked slowly, feeling her way through the passageway as she heard James' footsteps in front of her.

With James' weak light spell to the fact that he seemed to be hurrying along, she felt like it wouldn't be long until she'd be consumed in total darkness, alone.

"Potter!" She called suddenly. His footsteps stopped. "Wait!"

"Oh! Sorry Evans." His voice said. Before she knew it, she felt a warm hand grasp her wrist, and then slide down to her hand.

She gripped it tightly. Out of fear of falling, of course.

When they finally emerged from the dark passageway, she found herself in a damp cellar. Large brown boxes lined the walls, and the scent of sugar filled the air.

"You'd better tell me right now where we are." She said with mounting irritation, pointing her finger at him. What did he think he was doing, leading her into random passageways with unknown destinations.

More importantly, what was she doing following him?

He just laughed quietly. "We're in Honeydukes' cellar."

Her jaw dropped. "We're in _Hogsmeade!_ We're not allowed to be here! This is against the rules! We've got to go back!" She exclaimed, turning back toward the passageway. But alas, it'd sealed itself up again.

She pounded her hands against the walled off passageway. When it wouldn't open, she turned back to him.

He was leaning against the wall of the cellar, an amused smile playing at his lips.

"Potter." She seethed. "You open this passageway right now."

"Can't do that." He said nonchalantly.

She gritted her teeth. "And _why _not?"

He grinned. "Because you would be breaking the conditions of the deal!"

"The conditions of the deal included not breaking any school rules!" She yelled. Worriedly, she glanced up at the ceiling, wondering if she'd managed to call too much attention to them.

"Try to tone it down a little bit Evans, I'm sure someone in Russia couldn't quite hear you." He said sarcastically. "And the conditions of the deal were simply that I couldn't do anything sexual to you without your consent."

He had a point there.

She glared back at him.

"Right. Now," He took her arm. "Come on."

She followed him closely, not wanting to be alone in the darkened cellar any longer.

They crept up the stairs slowly, before they both poked their heads out of the opening. Besides a slight rustling from the open door behind the counter, there was no one in the sight.

Quickly, he grabbed her hand and led her through the aisles and to the door.

Pushing open the glass door, they ran out into the snow-covered street of Hogsmeade.

Still breathing slightly heavily, Lily took a moment to look around.

Hogsmeade was really quite beautiful, especially when it wasn't crowded with students. About half of the shops were darkened, white snow lining the tops of all the roofs and ledges. The trees stood over the buildings, they too covered in snow.

"Geez Evans, a little out of shape there. You ok?" James said, looking at her with that condescending amused face that he'd shown earlier.

Lily glared back at him, but straightened up. "Can it, Potter."

He barked a laugh.

Much to her surprise, she had to hold back the corners of her mouth from moving upward.

"Where are we going now?" She asked. "Most of the shops are closed. And do you really think that any shop keeper would let us in, knowing that we're not allowed to be here?"

He smiled mysteriously. "Don't worry. I've got an in." He said, leading her along the snow-covered path.

She soon found herself standing in front of the Three Broomsticks before long.

"Potter? Really?" She asked with raised eyebrows.

He just shrugged, and pushed open the door.

Inside, all the chairs were pushed up on the tables and the place looked deserted. It was rather strange, she was so used to seeing it crowded with the upperclassman from Hogwarts that it was almost eerie being so quiet.

Startling her, the door from the kitchens opened, and Madame Rosmerta came out.

Rosmerta was the owner of the Three Broomsticks, and it was no secret that she was a fantasy of most of the boys at Hogwarts. She had bottled-blond hair, with brownish roots showing. She was quite pretty and looked somewhere around her late 20s. She also had a round body shape, which most of the boys came to the Three Broomsticks for.

"Hello Rosie." James said in a flirtatious voice. Lily fought the urge to roll her eyes.

"Hello Jamie!" She said back, smiling coyly and wiping down the bar. James walked over to one of the tables near the right and took down the two chairs.

"Well... sit down." He said, beckoning Lily to the chair.

She sat down with a huff.

"Jamie!" Rosmerta's voice called. "Will you come into the kitchen? I need some help moving some boxes."

He looked back at Lily.

"I'll just be a moment..."

* * *

"So that's her?" Rosmerta asked, perching on a few stacked boxes in the corner of the kitchen.

James couldn't help but smile. "Yeah. Listen, thanks so much for doing this. I owe you." He said, setting down the heavy brown box containing bottles of alcohol on the far left shelf.

He'd spoken to Rosmerta as soon as she'd agreed to the bet, knowing that, logic be damned, he wanted to be able to take Lily out on a proper Hogsmeade date. Regardless of the situation.

This, of course, was one of the many things he had on his mind for the coming days.

"As long as Albus doesn't find out, we'll be fine." She assured him. "But listen."

He stood up from setting the box down to find her staring at him fondly. She grabbed him by the shoulders and looked at him seriously.

"Go easy on this poor girl. You've been gushing about her for years, and that's why I'm doing this. Don't fuck up your chances." She said.

A little unnerved by the repetition in both her and Sirius' advice, he took a breath.

He grinned back. "I won't."

She let go. "Good. Now get back in there, and try not to smile like a giant prick."

He barked a quick laugh, and walked back into the room.

Lily was sitting at the table looking out the window facing away from him.

_Ok, this is your chance. _He said, giving himself a quick pep talk as he looked at her shiny red hair. _Don't screw up. Remember: casual._

With one more deep breath, he walked back over to the table, and sat down.

The moment he sat down, she gathered all her hair in her hands and pulled it all to one side, over her shoulder. The left side of the slope of her neck was exposed, showing beautiful milky white skin.

He froze.

She blinked her green eyes at him expectantly.

He felt like his throat had closed up. His tongue was thick and he didn't have a clue what to say. All he could think about was...

"Um."

"Potter?" She said loudly.

He swallowed. "Yeah, what's up?"

She looked like she was biting back a smile. It made his heart jump.

"Well, are you going to talk to me? Or would you prefer to just stare at me?" She asked, voice edging on laughter.

He grinned. "You're so pretty, it's hard not to."

This sent her blushing. He watched the pink creep up her neck and onto her cheeks as she looked down into her lap.

"Thanks." She mumbled.

This caught him completely off guard.

He'd called her beautiful loads of times, and every single instance she'd slapped him, or insulted him, or just scoffed. But _never _had he been afforded a sweet blush like that.

He wanted more of it. But before he could say anything else, Madame Rosmerta showed up at their table.

"Well, what'll it be kids?"

"Just two butterbeers thanks." James said pointedly. She walked away, scribbling on the notepad in her hand.

"How do you know I wanted butterbeer?" Lily said accusingly.

_Bugger._

"Oh, I didn't – what do you -" He spluttered, fretting that he'd already ruined his chance.

But the redhead's face relaxed.

"I do." She said, grinning back at him in a smirky fashion.

The girl was teasing him!

He tried to glare at her. "You did that on purpose."

She just smirked back.

"Bloody minx." He muttered.

She swatted his arm from across the table, but smiled as well.

"So." She said as she leaned against the back of the chair, folding her arms across her chest. "Potter. I've got to ask."

"Shoot."

"Freezing the floor of the sixth floor girls lavatory, setting off dungbombs during end of the year exams in third year, dying all the Slytherin boys' hair pink, gluing all of Slughorn's office furniture to the roof… was that all really you?" She asked.

He wasn't sure if she was about to reprimand him for doing that or not, but she seemed to be fighting back a smile, so he decided to let himself smile too.

"Yep. The Marauders were proud creators and executors of those pranks." He said proudly.

The corners of her mouth pulled upwards. The barmaid set two glasses down on the table, and proceeded back into the kitchen.

They sat for a long time after their glasses were drained, James recounting pranks from years passed, and Lily trying not to laugh.

She felt herself smile despite this.

"What about you Evans?" He asked. "You've pulled a few good pranks over the years."

"I suppose." She replied, trying to keep her pride down. She would admit, those few times she'd pulled one over on the infamous Marauders were some of her favorite memories of Hogwarts.

"That time you put itching powder in all of our beds…" He trailed off, and shuddered. "Took _weeks _to fully get out."

They spoke for a while on and off about schoolwork and teachers, James about Transfiguration and Lily about Potions, before James jumped into Quidditch.

"Lily, you really should come to one of the matches." He said matter-of-fact-ly.

She scoffed. "I don't _do_ flying."

His eyes widened. "What?"

"I just… don't fly." She said, shrugging.

He sat back in his seat and looked at her in a way she couldn't exactly place.

After a few awkward moments under his scrutiny, she spoke.

"I think Quidditch is made out to be a bigger deal than it actually is."

This set him off. "What? Quidditch is a big deal!"

"Well, it just seems like it's just a _game_ with people flying around on broomsticks, usually getting hit by something or falling off their brooms, and for what? What's the point?"

"Quidditch is more than a game! And it involves strategy and physics and careful planning!" He protested.

She scoffed. While doing this, however, her stomach rumbled.

"What time is it?" She asked.

He glanced down at his watch.

"Nearly one." He told her.

"Oh dear, it's lunch!" She exclaimed, jumping up from her chair. "We'll be late!"

"Relax Evans, we'll leave now. Just say that you lost track of time in the library, you know the professors will believe whatever shit comes out of your mouth." He said, mildly amused at her apprehension for breaking the rules.

It had always been his ambition to push Lily out of her comfort zone, to loosen her up a little. Just having her enter Hogsmeade itself when they weren't supposed to be there was a small victory for him.

Hitting him on the arm for the jibe at the library, she set off towards the door. Before leaving, he placed some money on the table and hollered a "thanks" into the kitchen.

* * *

On their walk back to Honeydukes, Lily couldn't help pondering to herself.

_I talked with Potter for almost four hours. _She thought. _And I didn't feel the urge to puke my guts out or bodily harm him. Hmm._

Whispering "Alohamora" on the lock on Honeydukes' door, he pulled her down through the store and to the cellar.

Holding his hand was not unpleasant.

Walking back through the empty passageway, he still didn't let go of her hand, for which made her a tiny, teeny, miniscule bit happy. His hand was rough, in a sort of callused, worn way.

By the time they got back to the Great Hall, lunch was indeed almost over. James dropped her hand and entered. She wanted to grasp his hand again, just to feel the warm strength of it, but only followed him in.

She was relieved, however, to see that Black was nowhere in sight.

They ate their lunch in companionable silence. A few times under the table their legs brushed, and she felt herself flinch whenever it happened.

She didn't know why this was happening.

Hadn't she been trying to win this bet?

Of course! And no, it wasn't as though she'd madly fallen in love with him during the course of the day. Not even close.

But she _had_ felt a few of her preconceived notions about the black-haired boy slowly fading.

He was smart, a lot smarter then he let people catch on. The pranks he played with his friends now seemed almost amusing to Lily (though not the ones that involved specific victims). He could carry a conversation, and actually made her unable to conceal her laughter a couple times. He loved Transfiguration, and although he was as much a Quidditch-obsessed dolt as she already knew, she was surprisingly more alright with it. He made it slightly tolerable.

Yes, maybe she was beginning to like him.

_You know what? _She thought to herself. _Potter's not so bad._

* * *

**Review please!**


	3. Day 2

**A/N: **First of all, I'd just like to say a big **THANK YOU **to everyone that reviewed this story. I never expected this fic to receive attention, and it's very encouraging, especially since this isn't my normal casual writing style.

Oh, and **disclaimer for this chapter: **there is a little bit of sexual tension stuff/thoughts from James, but not too bad. But, that said, the rating for this may change to "M" just because of swearing or more sexual tension (and y'all know I love me some sexual tension).

I'll try to update with the next chapter as soon as I can, but this was already written (that's why I updated so fast)

Although I'm exhausted from school and work and rehearsal, I wanted to give you guys a new chapter. So, read!

* * *

**Day 2**

* * *

Lily woke up feeling rested, and (begrudgingly admitting it to herself) rather excited for the day.

She wondered what it would bring, knowing Potter's taste for adventure. She was curious to see where he'd be taking her today.

At the end of lunch the previous day, James had bade goodbye to her, saying that he had some things to do and that he was sure she was sick of him already. It seemed more like he hadn't wanted to push his luck.

But today was a new day.

Extracting a clean pair of jeans and v-neck, she shimmied on her clothing. After pulling her warmest gray-button up sweater over it, she combed her hair through and applied a hint of lip-balm after seeing that her lips were chapped. Opting for a pair of fur-lined boots to keep her feet cozy, she gathered the latest book she had been reading, she walked down to breakfast.

Cracking open the pages once seated on the bench at the Gryffindor table, she glanced around at the people present. Over by the left there were clusters of a few students here and there, but no Potter.

It's true that he didn't specify when they would be meeting, or if they were even doing anything today, Lily inwardly hoped that he would be waiting down in the common room when she entered it this morning.

At around nine, just as breakfast was ending, she saw the male individual that she'd been anxious to see enter the hall.

A smile fell on her face automatically, but Lily quickly fought it down.

_Yeah, so you had a good time with Potter yesterday, big deal! _She told herself. _That doesn't you can nearly piss your pants in anticipation to see him. Merlin._

His hazel eyes landed straight on her, and she watched as he made a beeline to where she sat.

"Hello Evans." He said, an arrogant edge to it.

"Hi Potter." She said, reverting back to the old tone she would take with him when she couldn't be bothered.

She turned her attention back to her book. He sat, smiling at her for what felt like minutes.

Finally, she put her book down and looked at him expectantly.

"Well, aren't you going to ask what we're doing today?" He prompted, fidgeting a little.

That was one of the things that annoyed her greatly about him. Much more when he was younger, he had this tendency to be unable to sit still, mostly when he was excited or planning something.

And his current fidgeting made her slightly nervous.

She moved the leftover crusts of toast around on her plate, feigning disinterest. "Ok, I'll bite. What are we doing today?"

He smiled at her like he knew a secret. "It's a surprise."

She rolled her eyes. Merlin, this boy could be so incredibly cutely annoying sometimes.

_Whoa. Did you just say Potter was cute? _

She darted her eyes down to her plate.

She'd just called Potter _cute. _Well, she'd thought it. But that didn't make it any less alarming.

It was hard enough that she'd let herself admit that she enjoyed Potter's company. But it was a completely other thing to think that he was…

_Cute._

"Aren't you going to take any breakfast?" She said, hopefully leading her mind away from its previous train of thought.

In response to her question, he began loading up his plate with whatever leftovers he could rustle up from the now-deserted tables.

Sitting with him as he finished his breakfast, Lily firmly avoided his eyes.

He finished quickly, and then led her out of the castle and into the cold.

"James, why are we outside? It's fucking freezing." She commented, pulling her sweater tighter around her and sticking her hands under her underarms.

Still, he persistently led her across the field.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

He smiled at her again in that secretive way.

"Stop doing that!" She insisted.

"Doing what?" He asked innocently.

"Smiling like that. You look like the Cheshire cat."

His face contorted in confusion. "A what?"

"Never mind." Lily said, realizing her mistake. "It's just creepy."

"Aren't you going to ask again what we're doing today?" He asked impatiently, poking Lily in the stomach playfully.

She smacked his hand away. Annoyed at his figurative and literal poking, she replied. "Why? _What are we doing today?_"

He smiled at her smugly. "I'm taking you flying."

She froze, and laughed a humorless laugh. "Funny." She said sarcastically.

He pulled a serious face. "I'm completely serious." He said.

Her face dropped. "Whoa whoa whoa. No you're not."

"Yes I am." He insisted.

"No –"

"Lily. The conditions." He said, the complacent grin stretching across his lips.

She opened her mouth to protest, but she knew she couldn't do a thing about it.

"To think I was actually beginning to like you." She muttered. The boy walking in front of her froze, and turned slowly around to face her, a dumbfounded look on his face. She realized that he'd heard, and scrambled to reply.

"Not like _that_." She insisted. The look turned into a large, self-satisfied grin. She rolled her eyes and scoffed at this, bringing her gaze from the ground up to him. "J-just that I can tolerate you."

He didn't say anything. He merely took her hand in his (which she tried not to react from) and led her to the small wooden shack located near the Quidditch pitch.

"If you're bringing me in here to snog, you know that's not happening." Lily said irritably, still annoyed with herself that she accidentally clued Potter in about her changing feelings for him.

He still didn't say anything. He picked up a dark-mahogany-looking racing broom from the left side of the shed.

He held the broom with care, but firmly, like it was truly his. The broom seemed to mold itself against its master's hand, like it was made for him. She couldn't help staring at it.

When he turned back to her, he smiled again.

"Lets go." He said, moving past her and out of the shed.

* * *

From the moment he took up Quidditch, he'd wanted to fly with Lily. Having darling Lilykins sitting on his broom with him, her body up against his, her hair flowing behind her and her tinkling laugh in his ears…

And then yesterday, when Lily insisted that she just "didn't fly"… well, that just put his list of to-dos in the coming five days on hold.

At the moment, he was watching Lily stare nervously from the broom to him.

"Evans, get on the damn broom. Stop being such a chicken." He said, hoping to provoke her.

Her eyes narrowed as she glared at him angrily, and he knew he'd gotten her.

Gingerly, she threw one leg over and moved to straddle the broom.

The motion was not lost on James.

Swallowing his heart (which had jumped up into his throat) he mounted on the broom behind her.

He slid up close to her until she felt his chest on her back, warranting a little squeak from her.

God, the noises she made were so _adorable._

Settling himself on the broom, he pushed up from the ground, and felt the broom lift off into the air.

They weren't more than six feet above the ground before he heard Lily scream.

Fearing that she'd felt off balance, his arm instinctively darted out and wrapped around her waist.

Any other time she probably would have pushed it off, but instead, she merely slid farther back on the broom. In doing this, the back of her arse slid against James.

He bit back a groan at the contact.

Merlin, how could he pay attention to flying when he had Lily's body pressed up this close against him? He felt his stomach churn as he held on firmly to the broom with the one hand Lily wasn't holding.

_Bloody hell, she feels so warm… _He thought as she gripped his hand. He could smell her hair… it smelled like sweet honeysuckles. He, unfortunately, could feel his pants starting to tent.

He gulped, trying to think of anything, _anything_, that would stop his reaction.

_Errrr… Getting hit in the face with a quaffle… Peter getting sick all over Mum's favorite carpet… er… Snape in a dress!_

The higher he flew, the more chilling the air got. He decided to dip lower then he usually did, not wanting to freeze the girl seated in front of him.

As they skimmed above trees and around in the white-gray sky, Lily thankfully began to relax her death grip on his hand (not that he minded Lily touching him, though he was starting to lose circulation). If he was correct, he almost thought he saw her smiling.

She still held onto his hand though. Maybe it wasn't much of a responsible act, only flying with one hand while the very beautiful warm body touching him slightly mentally incapacitated him, but he couldn't bring himself to tear it away. Instead, he aimed to fly in easy circles.

And then she looked back at him. It felt like he saw it slow motion. Her red hair billowed around her face as she turned quickly. It was just a glance, but her emerald eyes held happiness and her pink lips were curved into a genuine, gleeful smile. In the midst of the white-lighted sky, Lily stood out like a splash of color against a blank canvas.

It made his breath catch in his throat.

But her head turned back in front of her quickly. Her lips admitted a sort of breathy laugh.

After a while, he began to dip lower and lower until he was finally almost floating above the pitch.

Touching his foot to the ground, he steadied the broom as Lily's shorter legs stretched to make contact with the solid earth as well.

Finally stepping off, Lily stumbled away from the broom, one hand clutching her heart, wearing a smile.

James felt like he could cheer for joy.

"Now, that wasn't so bad was it?" He asked smugly, holding his broom in his left hand and walking over to her current position on the pitch.

She rolled her eyes, though a natural smile still played at her now-bluish looking lips.

"I guess not." She said. Her eyes shifted to the ground. "Sorry for the death grip though." She said softly.

_Ah, so she'd noticed. _He thought. This, however, meant she also might have felt his hormonal reaction. He hoped not.

"It's alright." He said, shrugging it off. "Come on, you look like you're freezing your extremely sexy arse off. Let's get inside."

"Cheeky." She said, swatting him on the arm. He laughed.

"I'll admit it, though." She said. "That was actually fun. Thanks, Potter."

He could not hold back his smile.

He'd flown with Lily Evans. And she'd liked it.

* * *

They walked back to the castle for lunch, all the while James taunting her about admitting she liked flying.

Lunch was delicious, as always. Although Lily was starting to dread the end, fearing that he'd leave like he did yesterday. And she didn't want that.

As if she could sense this, his head tilted up from his meal and he asked, "You haven't got anywhere to be after this, correct?"

She looked around the almost deserted hall.

"Look around Potter. Unfortunately, I have nothing to do." She said.

"Good. I want to show you one of my favorite places." He said, grinning wryly.

At the end of the meal, they both stood up.

"However, we've got to nip up to the dorms before we go, I've got to get some supplies."

Her brow furrowed. "Supplies?"

"Well, see, Hogsmeade is fully open on Saturdays, which means the shops that were closed yesterday are open. But since we're still not technically allowed there, you and are going to play dress up." He explained.

Her eyebrows shot up. "Play _dress up_?"

"Yeah." He said. "Put on something besides Hogwarts robes, obviously. But something warmer then what you've got. I could tell you were freezing out there. Something that makes you look older."

They walked to the Gryffindor dormitories in silence. Lily could not help the blush creeping up over her cheeks.

_He'd noticed I was cold. _She said in her mind. _That was actually quite sweet._

"What?" He said, sending a sideways glance her way.

She tried to cover her blush, and looked away. "Nothing."

* * *

She rushed up to her dorm as soon as they walked through the portrait hole.

As she looked through her closet, her thoughts settled on James.

The feeling of his body against her sent her heart rate into overdrive. She could still feel his firm chest against her back, his arm wrapped across her side to keep her from falling. And in his embrace, she'd felt so… safe.

And when she'd taken a peak behind… just seeing him staring at her, unkempt black hair made even more messy by the cold wind, hazel eyes staring at her through his glasses with such intensity her grip on the broom almost slackened.

She shook her head, as if trying to shake out these thoughts.

She couldn't think this way.

_It's not like I have feelings! _She reasoned with herself.

_Oh yeah? Then why did you react that way to Potter rubbing himself up on you like an impatient cat?_ A voice in her head countered.

She snorted aloud at the mental picture. _He wasn't doing that. And I don't have _feelings_, per se. More like… half-feelings. Semi-feelings._

She'd only spent a total of one-and-a-half days with him, and look at where she was. The thought of him knowing these things, about these _semi-feelings_ angered her greatly. He'd been so cocky… so arrogantly _confident _when he'd made this stupid bet, like he'd just _known _that no one could resist falling in love with James Potter, King of Hogwarts.

King prat was more like it.

_No. _She decided. _No more thinking that you want to touch his wind swept hair or that his eyes stare at you with the white hot intensity of a thousand suns, or _especially_ that Potter is _cute. _Stop it before it gets worse._

She breathed easy now, now that her priorities were set and her behavior dealt with.

But now the only problem was… she was about to spend an afternoon with him.

Most likely doing something fun and exciting.

_Bugger._

She huffed, and exited her dorm. Walking with purpose, she ascended the boys' staircase, and stopped in front of the worn wooden door.

Underneath the gold plate reading, "7th Year Boys Dormitories", there was "The Marauders" scorched into the wood.

Lily rolled her eyes. She steadied herself, and knocked three times briskly on the door.

"Padfoot, what're you knocking for? I'm not tossing off in here like Wormtail last month." James' muffled voice came from the other side of the door.

Holding in the laughter bubbling in her chest, she replied, "It's not Padfoot!"

The next thing she heard was urgent footsteps, and the wooden door sprang open.

His eyes widened in surprise. "Shit. Uh, sorry Evans." She couldn't help herself from glancing past him and into his bedroom.

She emitted a loud snort. "It's alright. But listen, Potter, I'm feeling kind of sick. I don't think it's best for me to go outside right now."

From what she could see, there seemed to be a lot of dirty clothes on the floor, and trash on the few surfaces visible. On the wall, there were two different posters of topless witches, blowing kisses and winking.

"You trying to ditch me, Evans?" He asked blatantly, bringing her away from her inspection.

She feigned an annoyed face. In reality, he'd seen right through what she was trying to do.

"Potter, I'm feeling sick. You're welcome to stay with me, coughing and blowing my nose and such in the common room, but –"

"I'll stay." He said.

She wasn't expecting that. Though she probably should have. She felt like giving herself a face-palm.

"It's ok Potter, you run off and do… whatever you do." She finished.

He wasn't budging.

"No, really Lily. I want to spend the day with you." He smiled, irritating her greatly. "And the conditions are that I get to do –"

"Whatever you want with me, yeah yeah." She finished through gritted teeth.

Stomping her way down the stairs to the common room, she threw herself angrily on the couch, before taking the book she was currently reading, _To Kill A Mockingbird,_ off the side table.

No less then a few moments after she opened the front cover, she felt a weight push into the couch. Looking over her book, she saw Potter's body sprawled out next to her.

He was still wearing the jeans from the morning, but he was wearing a warm-looking dark blue sweater with what looked like a deer silhouette sewn in with white wool. His hair was _still _slightly more messy then usual, purely from this morning.

She tried to train her gaze away from him.

"So." He started. She felt him shimmy closer to her, so that his hair was almost touching her shoulder. "What're you reading?"

"_To Kill A Mockingbird_." She said, tilting the cover toward him.

His face twisted in confusion. "Is it about taxidermy?"

She couldn't help but laugh out loud at this.

"No Potter, it's not. It's just a metaphor." She explained.

He shivered. "Good. Because that is just bloody _creepy_."

"How do you know about it?" She asked curiously. She knew that it was an obscure muggle thing, and she seriously doubted that any wizard brought up in pureblood community would know what it was.

"It's one of the only things I remember from Muggle Studies." He said sheepishly.

"You took Muggle Studies? Why?" She asked surprisedly.

Although, now that she thought about it, she did remember vaguely Marlene saying something about it. Marlene was a pureblood, but her family wanted her to also learn about Muggles. Lily remembered sometime in a previous year when Marlene came running in, ranting about something Black and Potter had done during the class.

His gaze looked up at her from his position next to her arm. She looked down at him, his eyes meeting hers.

"I took it to understand you."

An awkward silence filled the air.

What she supposed to say? She fretted for a few moments, before James decided to thankfully continue.

"Though it was quite confusing. Particularly Muggle technology." He said. "Especially… what was it called? Those things that you talk through. Sort of like through Floo –"

"Telephones?" Lily supplied.

He nodded his head vigorously. "I just don't get them! How are they all connected, how can the pick who to talk to?"

"Well, it's all connected by a network, just like Floo. And the numbers correspond with certain others. Muggles use it a lot, actually, since we don't use owls." She explained.

After this, James seemed to quiet down. For a while the two sat in companionable silence, as James read along with Lily. She'd managed to read many pages until she felt a weight drop completely on her shoulder.

Looking down, she saw that James had indeed fallen asleep, choosing to use her shoulder as a pillow.

His glasses were only half on, and his face was smashed unattractively up against her shoulder. His black hair splayed across her upper arm.

She should have moved him. She should have shook up, or said, "Wake up, Potter! My shoulder isn't your pillow!"

But she didn't. She couldn't bring herself to move him, for he looked so innocent and boyish that she didn't want to interrupt his sleep.

Going back to reading her book, in vain, she tried to ignore the warm, sleeping boy next to her. The warm sleeping boy who managed to smell like something she couldn't quite place, but strangely made her want to cuddle into him.

_No! You do not want to cuddle with Potter!_

_Oh yes you do. This is the closest he's ever been to you, and you're already snuggling closer to him. _

_No I'm not!_

_Well, what are you doing now?_

_He fell asleep against my shoulder. That's hardly cuddling._

She shook her head lightly, wishing to be rid of the bothersome thoughts. It wasn't her fault his body was so deliciously _warm_!

A change in the weight on her shoulder roused her from her mental battle.

James had slowly lifted his head up, coming out of his previous sleep state. He took off his glasses, and started rubbing his eyes.

Putting back on the spectacles, he blinked once, then twice, and then looked at me.

"Alright Evans?"

She nodded cagily.

_Stop it. Potter is a horrible, arrogant prat!_ _And you definitely do not want to touch him!_

_That's such a lie._

"I didn't fall asleep on you, did I?" He asked, casually scratching the back of his head.

She could feel the anger bubbling up inside her. She hated this boy, the only person who possessed the ability to get under her skin. With a few words, he could either make her seethe with anger or fall apart in sadness. Around him, all her senses and emotions felt magnified to the point they were difficult to control.

"You did, you awful prat." She spit out.

James looked at her, quite alarmed at the sudden change of tone. "Hey, sorry! You could have woken me up! You could have moved me!" He said pointedly.

"Well… well… I'm not rude!" Lily said defensively.

He opened his mouth to speak again, but before he could, she stood up angrily and stalked out of the room, leaving a slightly bewildered James Potter, confusedly ruffling his hair.

* * *

**Please review!**


	4. Day 3

**A/N: **hi everyone! so I typed this entire chapter, and then when I finally made all the corrections and it was completely ready, I accidentally deleted it (insert face-palm here). So I hope you all appreciate this! I typed as much as I could remember, and then some. I just came home from school in a really shitty mood, but I decided I owed you guys an update.

Also, #1: This is slightly more mature than the other chapters just because of one moment with James and Lily's legs. And I am definitely now upping the rating because of future chapters (SPOILER ALERT! oops, i think i was supposed to put that before. Ah, well).

#2: People have been asking me about Sirius and Lily's relationship, and don't worry, more Sirius is coming.

#3: Thank you so, so much to those who reviewed. Seriously. They make me all happy and warm and fuzzy. Like I drank liquid chocolate chip cookies.

Ok. I'm done. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

**Day 3**

* * *

The morning came quickly, rousing James out of his comfortable sleep with rays of light. But he got up determinedly, stretching up and opening the half-closed drapes.

"Ughmph!" Sirius' voice sounded through his curtains.

A few minutes passed before the maroon flaps opened to reveal a rested-looking boy of seventeen.

"Morning Prongs." He said, combing his hand through his hair briefly.

"Pads." James said in greeting, stepping over another discarded cloak on his trip back from the loo.

"How're things going with the red-haired harpy?" He asked, stepping out of bed. No sooner had he gotten to his feet then he was shoved back, falling back onto the mattress.

"Shit!" He yelped.

"Don't call her that." James said sharply, pulling back from shoving Sirius.

"I'm just fucking kidding, ok? You know I love Evans." He said, getting back onto his feet.

Upon seeing James' murderous face, he quickly added, "As a sister! As a sister! Merlin Prongs. You're testy this morning."

"Sorry." James mumbled. "Things haven't been exactly going to plan, but nothing I can't fix."

"Why? Did you accidentally tell her about all your sick fantasies about the History of Magic classroom?" Sirius replied, smirking largely at him.

"You're a git, you know that?"

He stood up and grabbed the bedpost. Adopting a high pitch in his voice, he breathed. "Oh Lily, please! I want you so badly! I want to ram my c-"

"Sod off!" James yelled. Sirius just laughed. "Mangy mutt."

"Oi!" Sirius exclaimed, throwing a pillow at James' head. "Uncalled for. Antler head."

* * *

As James walked to breakfast that morning, he tried to prepare himself.

He tried to think of every possible thing that Lily could do, and worked out what he would respond with.

For example, if the moment she saw him she turned him into a teacup and smashed him… well, he didn't really have a solution to that.

Various other incidents including getting doused with pumpkin juice rotated through his head as he trotted down the staircase.

Though he couldn't actually figure out why she'd snapped at him. He also didn't really understand why she suddenly tried to pretend she was sick. But that was irrelevant now.

Yes, he'd fallen asleep on her… and maybe that hadn't been the best idea considering their history. Maybe he'd freaked her out, getting too close. Maybe he'd been going too fast, while he should try to ease into things.

But James Potter wasn't very good at easing into situations. He was more of a "throw-myself-in-waving-my-arms-and-causing-a-scene" type of person.

By this time he was now standing in front of the doors to the Great Hall. Taking a deep breath, he pushed himself inside.

He deflated when he didn't see a familiar head of red hair sitting at the Gryffindor table.

Glumly, he sat down and poured himself a glass of orange juice.

Hey, at least he was drinking it instead of being covered in it, right?

* * *

_I'm staying in this bed forever. _Lily thought to herself, turning over on her side and pulling the thick comforter up to her chin. _I'm never leaving._

An image of James sitting at the Gryffindor table alone floated into her mind. She quickly shut it out.

_Screw this bet. _She said to herself. _I'm not spending time with Potter. I won't do it._

She closed her eyes and willed herself to go to sleep again, knowing that it was only about time for breakfast to be ending, and she'd get hungry soon if she was conscious.

She was awoken some time later by a loud pecking on the window. Blindly moving out of bed and to the window, she flung the pane open and snatched the letter out of the owl's talons. The small bird sat perched hopefully on the ledge while Lily slowly opened her eyes to read whatever nuisance disturbed her rest.

In a familiar messy scrawl, the parchment read:

_Come down to the Common Room._

She huffed, thoroughly annoyed. Crumpling up the note and tossing it in the trash bin, she retreated back to bed, leaving the owl still staring at her expectantly.

No sooner had her eyes closed and she'd started to relax when there was more pecking sounds.

Angrily ripping her eyes open, she went back to the window. A different owl sat perched in the previous owl's spot, holding another note.

All but snatching it from the poor owl's beak, Lily read the note quickly.

_I know you're hiding from me._

Tossing that note with the first one, she went back to her bed. Determinedly clamping her eyes shut, she hoped there would be no more noise.

Alas, there was more pecking in a few minutes.

Anger fading into wariness, she stood back up and hobbled over to the window. A snowy white owl gave her a third note, reading:

_Never thought you'd be one to go back on a deal, Evans._

She read the note over again. She felt anger at this, but also mildly guilty. She had made this bet. She was going to have to follow through.

Even if that meant being less lenient with her emotions.

Putting on a brave face, she opened the door and descended down the stairs.

She paused a foot into the common room. James sat on the couch, hands clasped, looking at the ceiling.

"Well, what?" She asked, sounding impatient. He looked up at her wearily.

"Are you done hiding away from me?" He asked.

"I wasn't hiding." She lied. She stepped a little more into the common room. Scouring her mind for a viable excuse, she said, "You didn't say we were doing anything today."

"Why are you mad at me?" He suddenly said. "What did I do?"

Out of all the times that Lily had brooded, glared, pouted, and acted upset about something James had caused, in all their years, this was the first time he'd asked her straight out what he'd done. She guessed it was because he hadn't really done anything wrong at all. He'd been perfectly in the right.

Maybe that's what angered her the most. That he _hadn't _done anything wrong, and he'd managed to plant these… semi-feelings… in her mind. That he'd managed, once again, to get to her.

She suddenly felt bitchy and guilty. Regardless of the fact that he was _James Potter_, she felt bad about treating him badly with no cause.

Damn her polite upbringing.

"Nothing." She said finally. "Let's not talk about it. I'm here now, where are we going today?"

His mouth curved into a tentative smile. He stood up from the couch and approached her.

"Today, despite you thought it would be a good idea to sleep until one thirty, we are going exploring." He announced.

She couldn't help her mouth from smiling. Compared to James, she barely knew Hogwarts at all. He seemed to know every crevasse, every secret passageway that existed. She was filled with a sort of childlike, giddy happiness when he said they were going to explore.

"That sounds good." She said casually.

She watched his hazel eyes wander down her body, and, despite her scolding, felt her heart speed up. He looked at her in this special way, eyes a little unfocused and mouth slightly open.

"But Evans?" His voice suddenly croaked.

"Yeah?" She felt like she whispered back. His hand awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck as he darted his eyes down to the ground.

"You might want to change."

Finally looking down at herself, she realized she was only wearing a baggy sweatshirt and sleep shorts. Her hair was out and loose, and probably tangled.

_Good god_, were her shorts really that short?

"Oh. Right." She said, turning and returning to her room to dress, her face burning.

* * *

As soon as her red head disappeared behind the wood door, James let out an unattractive groan.

Dear Merlin, those legs.

Those soft, pale, freckled, beautiful legs…

He pushed the image out of his head desperately, not knowing when Lily would return.

Unfortunately, like every other time he tried to think about anything else, she just kept sauntering her fine arse into his train of thought.

Why was she wearing shorts in the winter? Even if only to bed?

_No, don't think about her in bed! _He chided himself.

Lily came back into the common room, now comfortably dressed in warm boots, jeans, and multiple layers piled underneath a dark green knit sweater. The front portions of her hair were pinned up in delicate twists, sure to not cover her face.

When he lead her down the steps leading the Hufflepuff dorms instead of out the front door, Lily shot him a look of confusion.

They stopped in front of the painting of fruit located directly under the Great Hall above them.

Casually, James lifted his fingers and started tickling the pear in the painting.

"Um, Potter what are you –?"

She stopped when he turned the green doorknob that appeared, and opened the portrait hole to reveal a large, bustling kitchen filled with what looked like somewhere over fifty house elves.

Some stopped when the portrait hole opened, but upon seeing it was James who'd opened it, they went back to work.

Stepping through the doorway, Lily in tow, about five house elves ran up to him and immediately started chattering away.

"'Afternoon Mr. Potter! The usual today?"

"Mr. Potter, you look dashing today, if Bitsy may say herself!"

"Who's the girl you've brought with you, Mr. Potter? Is she your girlfriend?"

"What will you be wanting today?"

He just smiled kindly at them.

"Hi guys! My friend Lily here just missed breakfast, and lunch as well. So she's pretty hungry." He said. Turning to Lily, he asked, "What do you want?"

She stood there, awed by all of this, not answering.

After a minute, James just turned back to elves. "Just make her some bangers and mash, and slip a case of butterbeer in as well. Oh! And could you guys wrap it up?"

They all nodded eagerly, and scampered off in different directions.

"These are the Hogwarts kitchens." She said finally.

He nodded.

She watched closely to the clump of house-elves nearest to her, making what was to be a dinner of roast chicken. They worked with smiles, like a well-oiled machine.

She felt quite like a giant among normal-sized people, as she towered over the busily working elves. James sat comfortably on a stool to the left of the door, silently watching her.

"How did you find this place?" She suddenly asked. "Who would think to tickle a pear?"

He laughed. "Well, it was sort of like a contest in fourth year. We found out about the Hogwarts kitchens from Remus, who read it in that Hogwarts history book. It didn't say how to get to it, only that it was hidden under the Great Hall. So we all bet on who would be able to find it. We searched and scouted every painting on this floor, before Peter finally found it."

She looked at him suspiciously. "Are we not allowed to be down here, then?"

"Really, Evans. I thought you were a troublemaker now. Sneaking out to Hogsmeade and all." He teased.

She hit his chest. "Hey! _You _made me do that."

He shrugged. "You still went."

They looked at each other for a minute, silently challenging. Then Lily finally broke off, muttering, "Touché."

* * *

Upon Lily finishing her lunch on the walk, they started down away from the castle towards Hagrid's hut.

James, however, did not stop walking there.

"Potter." She said warningly. "Where are you going?"

He stopped only about a foot into the trees. "The Forbidden Forest, of course."

Her eyes widened. "You've got to be insane to go in there."

"Come on, Evans. It's not that bad." He turned fully to her now, walking backwards slowly into the darkness. "Afraid of a few trees, are we?"

"Potter!" Lily called warningly. He began to turn and walk swiftly farther into the forest. "Potter!" Her voice came again.

He hadn't gone even a few more feet in before he heard anxious footsteps hitting the snow behind him.

"Ah, hello. Summoned up your courage, then?"

She glared back at him. "I swear, if you get attacked by a rabid animal, I'm leaving you there to die."

He grinned. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

She quickly fell in step with him, and the two set off deeper into the forest. They walked in silence for a while, the snow covering the ground thinning out the deeper they walked in.

With his friends, James had explored the forest many times, though not much as a human. He began to feel a little nervous about this. Maybe he should have just kept her at the castle.

But before long, his worries vanished. Lily was beginning to loosen up, stop along the way to look at things, to quote plants they'd learned about in Herbology that year.

The snow had almost completely thinned from the ground, on account of the sheer mass of tree branches covering the forest floor from the sky.

* * *

After a while, they both became tired, and Lily began to drag her feet.

"Lily, come on!" He said, pulling her along.

"No!" In protest, she dropped onto the ground. He looked at her tiredly, she just made puppy eyes up at him. "Can't we just sit a while? We've been exploring all day and I'm tired."

He sighed with exasperation, but sat down next to her. Pulling her knees up to her chest for warmth, she looked over at James.

He was sitting with his legs slightly bent, hands out behind him supporting his weight. There were still a few bits of forest stuck in his messy hair from their leaf-fight (Lily had won, obviously), and his face looked tired but happy.

"It's so beautiful here." She felt herself say.

She looked up. The large trees stretched up, and their leaves formed a protective canopy over them. Tiny pokes of sunlight were visible, created a dim, cooling effect. Under them, the forest floor was covered in pine needles, making a soft ground to sit on.

"So Evans. Why are you staying over Christmas?"

The question came out of the blue.

She hesitated before answering.

"Well, my parents decided to go on some trek across the world this year, and they're currently still on it. Ever since I was little, my mum used to tell my sister and I bedtime stories about the emperors that lived in China, and the palaces and princesses, and she'd talk about the rainforest, and how there were tribes still living there now, just living off the land. She'd tell us tales of kings and jesters and poor village girls falling in love with princes. My mum's always had wanderlust, and right after September first this year, my dad got her a ticket, and they left. Of course, my sister's still at our house in Cokesworth. But her and I don't really get along, so I doubt that'd be a nice Christmas spirit welcome." She explained.

"I didn't know you had a sister." He said abruptly, almost alarmingly.

"Hmm?" Lily said, roused from her thoughts.

He looked at her blankly. "I didn't know you had a sister. You don't ever talk about her."

She laughed humorlessly. "Well, like I said. Her and I don't really get on. I don't like to think about her much."

"Why not?"

In it of itself, that was a loaded question.

She bit her lip. She'd never told anyone the full story. The only person who'd known the full extent of it was Severus, and he'd been there to experience it.

But she found herself trusting James. She wanted him to know. She could tell him.

She took a deep breath.

"Well. I think it started when I was nine. Petunia, that's her name, is two years older than me. So she was about eleven at the time. Before that, I'd never really shown as obvious signs of magic. And if I did, and I don't remember, we were probably just naive enough to imagine that a fairy or a ghost, or something else. Anyway, towards the end of my year of being nine, I started to show some fairly obvious signs of magic. I remember, this one boy in my class named Robbie Holtz kept making fun of my hair, and I got so embarrassed and angry that I accidentally caused a flowerpot to break. That was the first real incident I had with accidental magic. After that, kids kept telling rumors about me, saying that I could control the air, or that I was a..." She took a deep breath. "Well, a witch."

"What's wrong with that?" James defended. Lily smiled.

"Potter, in muggle culture, a witch is usually associated with ugly old women with warts on their faces and turn people into toads."

He just looked at her like he expected to hear the punch line of whatever joke she was telling.

"Never mind. So there was this girl, Alyssa Thompson. She was the worst of them all. She would torment me relentlessly. So one day... well, she was making fun of my parents, and I just got so angry... and I blew her up."

"What?" James practically yelled, eyes wide.

He fell back on the ground laughing, grabbing his stomach.

"Shut up!" Lily whined, hitting him across the chest. "Well, not so much blow her up like 'Kaboom' with bits and pieces. More like a balloon, and she just floated into the sky."

James continued to laugh. After a few more rounds of laughs from him and more "Oh, stuff it Potter!"s from her, she continued.

"Alyssa was the sister of Nancy Thompson, who happened to be Petunia's best friend." Lily said. "I didn't know what had happened to her at the time, but now I know the Ministry probably took care of it. Anyway, when Nancy found out that I was the one who did that to Alyssa, she stopped talking to Petunia. She completely shut her out and refused to come within a ten-foot radius of our house. And let me tell you, Cokesworth is not a huge town."

Lily sighed. After this, things got a little messy.

"Petunia was furious, naturally. I tried to explain to her that I didn't mean to do what I did, but she wouldn't listen. After weeks of begging her to let me show her that I wasn't evil, she finally broke down and followed me to the playground we went to when we were younger. We played on the swings, like we used to and I showed her how I could jump off and not get hurt. And I remember, I pulled up a dead flower, or a weed or something from the ground and held it in my hands, before I concentrated hard on it. It slowly began to bloom."

She felt herself chuckle. She didn't know why.

"I remember I'd worked so hard on it, not even knowing how to work, just concentrating and thinking of a way to show her, to make her see that I wasn't evil, that I was bad. But all she did was shriek and insist I stop. That's when I met Severus."

She saw James flinch a little at the mention of the certain Slytherin. She turned to him sharply.

"Look, Potter, I know he's not your favorite guy. And we're not exactly chummy anymore either. But you've got to understand, he's changed. He isn't the dirty, scrawny little boy that introduced me to a place where I could finally belong anymore -"

"I'm sorry." He blurted out.

"For what?" Lily said, voice a little softer.

He sighed softly. "Everything. But I don't really have time for that now." He said honestly. "Mostly I'm sorry for ruining your friendship with Sniv - Snape."

She exhaled shortly. "Thanks. That actually means a lot. But I don't really think it was your fault. Although you definitely provoked him..."

Lily's throat felt like it was closing up.

_No._ She had to get through this.

"...I don't think that you were the deciding factor. I remember before Hogwarts when he'd seen Petunia spying on us, he'd made a tree branch fall on her. And here, he'd always been fascinated with the Dark Arts... and in the end, it was his decision." She finished. She needed to keep talking, to finish the full story.

"But back to Petunia? I feel like me going off with Severus definitely seemed like a betrayal to her. She wrote a letter to Dumbledore, asking him if she could come. Of course, she's a Muggle, and so it was obviously out of the question. And on September first of my First year, she stood on the platform... and..." She swallowed, trying to keep the tremble out of her voice. "called me a freak. And ever since then all she's done is verbally abuse me or ignore me completely."

Upon finishing her tale, Lily leaned back on the enormous tree-trunk behind her. She felt drained. Though she was proud of herself. Yes, she did tell the story a little out of sorts, but she got it out. It felt good to have told someone in its entirety.

Though it did force her mind back to Severus, which she had trained herself out of somewhere in the beginning half of sixth year. But, it seemed, talking about him still made her feel like she'd been punched in the chest.

He was quiet for a while after, for which she was grateful.

* * *

The light was almost completely gone now, though neither had the heart nor the energy to lift themselves.

There is a sort of closeness in sitting in silence in the forest with another person. When neither are talking, they almost become part of the calm forest itself, its every whistle and call.

"There's no one home at my house." He said abruptly, stirring the blanket of silence that had covered the two teenagers.

She turned to him curiously, picking at a dried pinecone that had landed near her feet.

"I hate when they have to leave. Always, ever since I was a kid." He added.

"Your parents are Aurors, right?" She clarified.

"They're co-heads of the whole Department now." He said. "I thought when they got the job, it meant staying at the office, doing paperwork, that sort of thing. And it sort of did, for a while."

He laughed to himself.

"Used to drive my dad bloody crazy. He says I'm like him in that way. Neither of us can stand doing that."

"Doing what?" She pressed.

He smiled wryly. "Sitting behind a desk while others are out in the action."

This seemed completely obvious to her. James was truly and completely a Gryffindor, straight down to the bone.

"But more and more dark wizards keep cropping up, so they were personally requested to take on field assignments by the Minister."

His gaze turned up into the sky, avoiding Lily's eyes. "I don't know where they are right now. They've been gone almost a week now."

He cleared his throat loudly after that.

"I love my parents, and I'm so proud to be their son… but I wish I could be home with them. I really miss them." He said softly.

It caught her offguard, seeing him exhibit sadness. James Potter as a person was just so fantastic and colorful and exciting, she couldn't think of a time she'd seen him this down.

But in the same vein, she couldn't help feeling touched by the whole interaction. The usually laughing jester had pulled off his mask, and she felt like she was meeting the person inside. She felt relief, seeing that he was just as human as she was.

This made her curious about his dad, his mum, where he grew up, what his house looked like. There was so much she didn't know about him, and it fascinated her.

She liked these talks she had with him. She was collecting more and more information about the teenage wizard sitting next to her, about the most random things. She was almost _frustrated _that she'd spent so many years blindly hating him, this infinitely interesting boy.

They had always been caught up, up in a strange dance. He had irritated her to the point of fury, and there was something about him that had always, _always _set every cell in her body on fire.

That's what really hit her about him. It was at this point she finally realized how much of a monopoly he possessed on her.

It struck her just how much the boy mattered to her.

"You alright Evans?" His voice asked, pulling her out of her own head.

"Lily." She blurted out.

"What?"

"Call me Lily."

She didn't realize how much weight this carried until it was already out of her mouth.

She literally couldn't ever remember a time, sans their first meeting, where they'd called each other by their first names.

His eyes widened involuntarily, his hand flying up to ruffle his hair.

Somewhere deep inside her, she felt herself smile. It was a genuine smile, that warmed her from the inside.

After a moment of awkward eye contact, a smile spread over his face, seemingly in slow motion.

"Ok." He replied quietly. "Call me James."

* * *

**Review for liquid chocolate chip cookies!**


	5. Day 4

**A/N: **Hello! So I've just been standing up for five hours straight (on account of our director being a psycho and saying that we'll miss our scene if we allow ourselves to sit down and, quote "stop being engaged"), but now I'm comfortably resting with my feet up and uploading this chapter.

**Warning: This chapter is slightly... how should I say this?... _steamier_... then previous ones. **No lemons, though, and no sex.

I just want people reading this to know that when it comes to James and Lily, I love writing sexual tension/frustration. SO. yeah. And there will be more of relationship progressing in later chapters.

Or there won't. I don't know. (sarcasm)

Hope you all enjoy this chapter! I look forward to reading some reviews (hopefully)!

* * *

**Day 4**

* * *

As the sun finally came up over the horizon, James Potter lay in his bed, with images of dark red hair and secret smiles swimming around in his mind.

He let his mind wander back to their conversation last night.

He suddenly felt angry because of her sister. It was obvious Lily took great pain from the severance of their relationship. Who wouldn't? A sister who treated you like dirt?

On the other hand, he couldn't help feeling honored. He could tell that this story was not told often, perhaps ever, and allowed himself to draw happiness of the fact she seemed to trust him enough to tell him it.

He was getting close to her. He could feel the shift coming.

She'd always meant a lot to him, but in the way that a naïve boy sees a pretty girl and becomes fixated on her. A small crush, like puppy love. But hearing these thing, personal information about her past, made him ache for her even more. She was a beautiful and talented and fiery and infinitely exciting witch.

He could hear Sirius waking up, bustling about outside his bed curtains, but he was almost afraid to get up. He didn't want to lose this progress he had with her, he didn't want to mess up how far he'd come. What if she regretted telling him these things? What if she was alarmed at her trust in him, and pulled away?

His allotted time with her was coming to an end.

* * *

_So much for reigning in my emotions. _Lily thought to herself while brushing her teeth. Leaning down to spit in the sink, she thought about what they'd discussed yesterday.

She'd told him about her family, something she rarely mentioned at Hogwarts, and he'd listened. He'd told her about his feelings and his parents, and later, how Sirius came to live with them during the summer before fifth year.

He was so vulnerable, so real, and so _human_. She felt elated in being one of the only people to see Potter this way.

_James. _She corrected herself. She felt she had the privilege to call him this now.

Feeling good and ready for the day, she exited the dorm and went into the common room, just in time to see Sirius coming out of the boy's rooms.

Upon seeing her seated on the couch, Sirius smirked and said, "He's still lying in bed."

She flushed red, but replied a small, "Um, thanks."

Sirius barked a laugh, and exited through the portrait hole. "Use protection!"

Shaking off her deepening blush, Lily slowly crept up the steps. Technically, she could enter the boys' dorms, but she didn't really want to.

"Oi! P – James!" She called loudly. Nothing. She tried again, louder this time.

"What?" A muffled voice finally called down.

Lily held down a laugh. "Hurry up!"

She listened to the creaking of the bed, and a pair of feet padding around on the wood floors.

"Patience is a virtue, you know." He muttered.

"I've got plenty of patience!"

"Blimey!" She heard his voice exclaim. "You've got sensitive ears."

She giggled. "Just hurry up."

"Relax! I'm getting ready now! I don't just _wake up _looking fierce, fabulous, and fuckable you know!"

She couldn't stop herself from laughing out loud. In addition, she rolled her eyes.

"Stop being such a girl!" She called back.

She heard his quipped laugh.

After sitting for a few minutes on the stairs and listening to the sounds of water running, and then clothes being pulled out, she became restless.

She marched up the steps. Throwing open the door, she mockingly yelled, "What is taking you so long –?"

She froze in the doorway.

James Potter stood, only wearing a pair of jeans, hunched over the bottom drawer of the dresser. He turned in surprise, and dropped the cotton socks that were clutched in his hands.

The muscles of his back moved lithely as he turned around, exposing a toned chest and stomach. His skin was slightly tanner than hers, and looked soft and rough all at the same time. Her heart jumped into her throat and she felt herself unconsciously squeal in surprise.

Quickly, she closed the door and ran back down the stairs to the common room, throwing herself down on the couch face-first.

He wasn't wearing a shirt. He wasn't wearing a shirt. _He wasn't wearing a shirt_.

The image of his chest, his _muscled _and deliciously _bare _chest stuck in her mind like glue. She wanted to run her fingers all over him, feel his abs tighten under her fingertips…

_Lily! _She was appalled at herself. Sure, she found boy's bodies attractive, what straight, teenage girl wouldn't? But she'd never had such a powerful reaction.

When did he become so... _beautiful_? She remembers him as a tiny first year; head a little too big for his scrawny little body, scampering around with his nobby knees and his thin arms.

He'd _definitely _grown up, to say the least.

She heard a deep voice cough somewhere above her, and she turned over onto her back.

She came face to face with James, now fully clothed, standing over her with raised eyebrows.

"Alright Evans?" He asked uncertainly, as if trying to gage her level of anger at him.

"That's Lily to you." She quipped back.

They stared at each other for a moment before Lily rose from the couch, brushed herself off, and asked, "So, what'll we do today?"

James cleared his throat. "Well, I thought we'd just get breakfast, maybe play a little in the snow. Just relax. It's Christmas, you know."

"Is it?" Lily replied, aghast. She'd lost track of time while she'd been with James. She'd forgotten it was Christmas!

He nodded his head with a small smile.

"Breakfast then?" She asked briskly, before turning on her heal and all but marching out the door.

* * *

Eating his French toast, James pretended not to notice Lily's poorly concealed stares.

While James already had a big head (notoriously arrogant, in fact), he felt amazed by Lily's reaction to seeing him shirtless.

True, James was quite a handsome man, but growing up next to Sirius Black had mildly eclipsed his features. Sirius was no doubt extremely handsome and debonair and witty, with hair that fell exactly in place and stormy, mysterious gray eyes, and a six-pack. James was more tall and lean, with hair that _never _stayed flat, and hazel eyes. Girls did pay him a great deal of attention, obviously, but was secondary to Sirius for the affection of the girls at Hogwarts.

And so, he took great pleasure in the fact that Lily found his form enticing.

He turned to her in mid-stare, which made her quickly snap her eyes back to her plate.

"Alright _Lily_?"

She cleared her throat. "Just fine _James_." She said, flipping her hair off one shoulder and leaning into her meal.

"How is everyone doing today?" Sirius said, surprising them both by sliding into the bench across the table.

Helping himself to a spot of breakfast, he surveyed the two sitting in front of him.

They both looked rather appalled that he had shown up in the first place. Considering the fact that he'd been mostly M.I.A. for the past few days, he'd give them credit.

"So Sirius, what have you been doing these few days?" Lily asked, voicing both their thoughts. As soon as she did, she started to color around her cheeks.

"Oh, you know. I have my interests." He said, peering through the window between James and Lily and winking.

Following his sightline, they both turned to see Emmeline Vance, sitting at the Ravenclaw table, looking down at her plate, blushing a tomato red.

"You snogged Emmeline!" James squawked.

Sirius smirked. "I did more then snog her, I can tell you that." His grin faltered slightly after that. "But unfortunately, she's spending the day with her younger sister."

He looked pointedly at Lily. "So I'm all alone."

"You could join us." Lily said hurriedly. James barely concealed his anger and his urge to choke Sirius with a sock.

Sirius grinned, specifically at James. "Wonderful."

* * *

After breakfast, the three ventured outside, Sirius jumping around in the snow in front of them.

"Merlin, he's such a dog sometimes."

"What?" exclaimed James, watching his friend sniff something, quite enraptured by it.

Lily exhaled softly. "I just mean he treats girls sort of like tissues. Used once, and then thrown away."

It was James' turn to sigh.

"He means well." Was all he said, not caring to discuss Sirius' lax views on women.

If he was being honest, he and his canine best mate shared this same philosophy when it came to the female species until very recently. He'd had more then his share of broom-closet meetings, even when he still outwardly fancied Lily.

But as he'd become her sort-of friend this year, and made many friendships with other girls in Gryffindor, he began to look back on these opinions as immature and cruel.

He remembered what his father said to him when he was little. He remembered telling his father about her, in great detail, and about how he loved her but she hated him.

James remembered the entire scene very clearly. They were both sitting in the study together, his father reclined in the big brown armchair, a book on his chest and a drink in his hand.

He said, "Son, love always finds a way. No matter how much you try to surpress it. It's got this hold over us. We like to think our brains are in full control of our hearts, but they are not. Against all odds, love _happens_."

* * *

Lily peered out from over the wall of structured snow-fortress she was hiding behind. James and Sirius had been playing against each other for years, and as per tradition (they played every time Sirius was at the Potter's, they'd said), they were out throwing snowballs at each other.

However, this was not the usual snowball fight that Lily herself had partaken in back at Spinner's End.

No, no. This fight was practically to the death, utilizing magic skill and missionary strategy, complete with catapults and slingshots and, naturally, a meticulously constructed barricade.

And naturally as well, James simply _had _to protect Lily.

"Get down!" He hissed, pulling Lily down to a crouching level and her red hair out of view.

"You're such a child."

He merely grinned, before shushing her and staying low behind the wall of snow and ice.

It was a few minutes before the first snowball hit (she believed Sirius had gotten bored with waiting it out). It wasn't long before perfectly molded snowballs were filling the air, complete with battle cries from both James and Sirius.

"What was that? Are you even trying to aim? Are you blind?"

"At least I'm not a pansy! Why don't you go play with your chew toys!"

Looking up at James yelling across the battlefield, barely concealing her laughter, she was suddenly pulled aside by what seemed to be an invisible force.

"Ow! What the –?"

It kept pulling her until she was completely out of James' fortress.

"Padfoot!" James whined.

"Shouldn't leave it lying around if you don't want someone to take it!" Sirius' voice said. Before she knew it, Sirius was back in view again, holding her wrist and pulling her into his headquarters, holding some sort of cloak in his hands.

"Is that what I think it is?" She suddenly said, grabbing it out of Sirius' hands. The material felt soft, almost liquid on her fingers.

He nodded his head nonchalantly before yelling, "You'd better amp up the ammunition, Prongs, this is like fighting with an eight year old girl!"

"That's how he does it." She said to herself, amazed. James Potter had an invisibility cloak.

_Of course he does. He's the bloody king of mischief. _

"It's a Potter family heirloom." He said. He sat down to where she was crouching, pulling his knees to his chest. "Listen, now that I've got you here, I've got talk to you."

"What about?" Lily replied uncertainly.

He exhaled loudly. "Do you fancy James?" Sirius asked bluntly.

Lily blanched. "Well, I, no, but… I-I don't know… well –"

"Evans." He said, holding up a hand. "It's a yes or no question."

She swallowed thickly.

"I don't know!" She finally burst out.

"Bloody hell." He muttered, letting his head fall against the wall of snow. "He's actually got a chance."

"What? I never said I fancied him!" Lily insisted.

Sirius looked at her pointedly. "Seriously Evans? Despite popular belief, I'm actually quite fond of you. But you're probably the only person, sans The Marauders, and obviously his parents, that could completely and totally break him."

She fell silent again. "I just… I don't exactly know how I'm feeling. James is such –"

He snorted. "_Oh_. So he's _James _now?"

Lily glared at him, but a blush began to color over her cheeks. "He's actually kind of smart, and really funny… and he makes me _feel_, and –"

"Whoa." He interrupted, holding up his hands. "I'm not your diary Evans. I just wanted to make sure that there's not a _complete 100% chance_ that you won't crush my best mate's heart."

She didn't say anything else.

"Padfoot!" James' voice came over the wall.

"What? Finally surrender?" Sirius called back.

She heard a scoff. "Never. I've come to rescue my fair maiden!"

Laughter bubbled out of her.

"You'll have to fight me for her!" Sirius called back, still staring at he.

"Then come out and face me like a man!"

Lily watched as Sirius slowly exited the fort, face set into a smirk. Running out after him, she saw James and Sirius walking in a circle facing each other.

To her, it was the most hilarious thing she'd ever seen. Two grown, seventeen year old boys, playing make believe.

Without warning, James lunged and tackled Sirius to the ground. The two rolled, trying to pin one another, until finally James stood up and plunked his foot down on Sirius' chest.

"Say it!" He said gleefully.

"Alright, alright! Bloody hell." Sirius muttered. Rolling his eyes, he said dejectedly, "You are king of the snow."

Taking his foot off his chest, James said triumphantly, "Damn right I am."

He turned slowly around to face Lily, who was now practically in stitches from laughing at the two boys.

Quickly, she stood up and adapted a princess pose. "My hero!" She tried to say as least-sarcastically as she could.

James grinned back at her, and she felt herself smile too.

* * *

The trio returned to the Hogwarts castle later that day for a quick bite of lunch (from the kitchens of course, it was already almost four when they got in the door), before Lily said she needed to change into dry clothes.

Sirius went off with Emmeline after she returned from her day with a crying sister and what he called, "looking for a way to work off her bad mood".

Lily stood in her towel, staring into her closet, looking for something to put on.

As was custom in the Evans household, at Christmas they would wear their pajamas directly after dinner and then huddle around the tree and decorate it.

Regardless of the fact that Lily was, in fact, still present in the Hogwarts castle, she was determined to hold onto this tradition, if even just with herself.

So pulling on clothes haphazardly, she ran down to dinner.

She sat with James and Sirius, as well as with Emmeline Vance (who was surprisingly smart and witty, too good for Sirius, in Lily's opinion). Dinner was quiet, but was exceptionally good that night. It included all the regular Christmas trimmings, including a ham.

Scurrying back to her dorm, Lily pulled on her favorite Christmas pajamas. They were her rattiest pair.

In a way, Lily liked old, faded clothing. It made her feel like the clothes themselves held memories, like they had character. Though she was, not that she liked to admit it, a bit vain (in her mostly matching knickers-and-bra sets and her clean and starched school uniform), there were just certain pairs of clothing that no matter how much her mother begged, she just couldn't seem to get rid of.

Padding quietly down to the common room, Lily settled herself in front of the crackling fireplace with her book to enjoy Christmas night as best she could.

No sooner then she'd gotten ten pages in did James Potter enter the room as well.

"I thought you'd be here." His voice remarked happily.

"Looking for me?" She muttered, still slightly engrossed in the story on the pages in front of her.

He walked over to her, and threw himself unceremoniously down on the couch.

She realized, quickly, that he too was wearing pajamas.

It made her smile. In a certain way, maybe her tradition was being carried on at Hogwarts.

"Nice pajamas." James said, basically voicing her thoughts. She glanced down at her sweatpants and what looked like a man's green flannel shirt.

She smiled. "These are my Christmas pajamas."

"Mine too." He said.

She took a moment to look at him. He was wearing red checkered pajama pants, and a gray t-shirt with what looked like a cat on it.

She crinkled her eyebrows in confusion. "Didn't know you were fond of felines, Potter."

He glanced down at the cat on his shirt, and immediately started laughing softly.

"This is from the first Christmas Sirius ever spent with us. It was the summer before third year, so obviously we thought we were big and bad and were absolutely bloody titans at magic. So, he decided it would be hilarious to print kittens on every piece of clothing I owned. Luckily, with my mum and dad's help, I got every other thing back to normal. But I just decided: hey, why not keep this one for the memory?" He finished.

She felt herself laugh at his story. She could almost see it exactly, in her head. Little Sirius and James running around firing curses at each other.

Without thinking, she suddenly shimmied up next to James on the couch, and leaned her head on his chest.

She felt him tense up from what she assumed was surprise, but then loosen in a few seconds.

A little more time went by of Lily just staring into the red and orange and yellow flamed fireplace before she felt a hand stroke her hair.

She looked up shyly, and saw James (still staring into the fireplace) with a smile playing at his lips. His hand continued its journey multiple times before Lily suddenly sat up.

"James." She said seriously.

"What?" He asked frightfully. "Did I just pull your hair or something?"

She laughed softly. "No."

She bit her lip subconsciously. "I just wanted to say that I've really had fun with you these past few days." She managed to spit out. "You aren't really an 'arrogant toe-rag' after all."

She almost burst out laughing at his expression. His eyes were as large as saucers, and his mouth slightly opened before he clamped it up again. He ran his hand through his hair, looking back to the fireplace, and then to her.

Suddenly feeling extremely awkward, she get off the couch and went up in front of the crackling fire.

A moment passed before James joined her on the floor. Both stared into the fire, the light dancing on their faces.

She felt his gaze on her.

She turned slowly. "What?"

"Nothing."

Her hair was parted to the side, like it always was, but instead of her usual ponytail or other up-do (which ensured it wouldn't obscure her vision, she said), it was still loose and wavy.

He had felt it under his hands, how bloody _silky _it was. He felt himself tense looking at it. All he could think about burying his face in it, smelling the honey-suckle scent, and feeling it incase him like a blanket.

"Lily." He suddenly breathed. She shivered at the way he said her name, all hungry and soft and completely _hers_.

"Yes?" She managed to whisper out.

He moved a little closer to her. He could see every freckle on her beautiful face… she looked like she was made of porcelain.

He wanted to kiss her. He wanted it more than anything. And in that moment, it dominated over everything else jumbling around in his mind.

_But I can't!_

_And why not you bloody wanker?_

_Because of the bet! It said I couldn't -_

_Not unless you ask._

But if he asked, she might get freaked out, and run away. He would just kiss her. Yes.

_No you can't, it's not fair to her._

He swallowed thickly. "C-can I kiss you?"

She bit her lip quickly; wetting the bottom one and making him bite back a groan.

Her response was so soft and in such an undertone that he almost didn't catch it. "Y-yes."

He leaned in carefully, taking time to let his hand come up and brush her hair off her neck. Her soft neck, illuminated by the crackling fire to the left of them.

Her eyes bore into his. He started to move toward her slowly, excruciatingly slow, simply because he was willing himself to not devour her suddenly and scare her away.

He brushed her neck with the back of his hand.

A soft, barely audible whimper escaped Lily's lips.

And something in him snapped.

Impatience sparked in him, he needed her _right now_.

He grabbed her roughly and pulled her closer to him, her hands gripping his shirt. She, in turn, pulled him down on top of her, and they lightly fall onto the rug between the couch and the fireplace.

His lips smashed into hers, soft and wet and _perfect_, and it felt like her lips were made for him.

His body reacted immediately, one arm moving to prop himself up on his elbow against the floor, one hand moving down to hold her hip. _Merlin_, her glorious hips.

And she was kissing him back! Her lips moved against his in perfect rhythm, full of the same feelings he was experiencing.

Her hands wound themselves in his hair, and tug slightly, making him groan into her mouth.

She felt herself warm at the sound he made. Her whole body felt like he'd set her on fire, and she couldn't breathe. His kiss made her mind swim and made her feel lightheaded.

His lips caressed hers, and she felt him drive the kiss deeper.

He finally pulled away above her, eyes closed and a look of concentration on his face. He gulped audibly. She realized his hair is beyond its usual tousled state, and it's because of her hands.

"James?" She asked softly.

He pulled away, tried to breathe. Both of them were breathing unevenly, him louder.

He was overcome with lust and need, but stopped and realized that if he did anything beyond this, it would result in her thinking of him as just another creepy, hormonal, teenage boy.

But Merlin, the kiss was enough to last. It was moan inducing, _toe curling_, even.

When he finally opened his eyes again, Lily was still lying under him, looking up at him with a small smile. Her red hair is slightly disheveled, and her eyes were staring at him with large pupils.

That's when it hit him.

_Holy shit, I've just kissed Lily Evans! And she kissed me back!_

"I just kissed you. You kissed me back." He blurted out.

She laughed breathlessly. "So I did." She said calmly, the same way you would comment that they happened to be serving chicken for dinner.

"Bloody hell." He muttered to himself.

She slid out from under him and into a sitting position, adjusting her shirt that had slid down. She looked as if she was about to go, and he was about to call after her.

She stood up and turned back to him. He realized he must look like a mess, still lying on the floor where they'd been a minute ago.

She looked back at him letting a small smile grace her lips.

"Merry Christmas James."

* * *

**Review please? **


	6. Day 5

**A/N:** Hello all! Sorry for the delay in updates, I'm currently extremely busy at school (I go to a performing arts high school) and I finished my scene show (which has been super stressful) and I'm still in rehearsals for the musical and my grades and ughhhhhh. And I didn't want to leave it on a bad note.

But that's irrelevant! Because this is a new chapter! Yeah! After this there's only ONE MORE CHAPTER :(

Oh, and also, in the setting of this story, the students come back the day after Christmas day (I wasn't sure of the timeline). And don't worry, everything will work out in the end.

So, enjoy! And please review my lovelies!

* * *

**Day 5**

* * *

As the sun came up over the horizon, Lily Evans was sitting up stock-straight in her bed, trying to lose herself in literature, but failing miserably.

Every time she would get into the story, the sensation of James' hot hand holding her hip coursed through her. The burning of his lips against hers seared a hole through her mind.

He jumbled up her thoughts.

She didn't like her thoughts being jumbled.

Now that she was thinking about it, she had been kissed, now, a total of four different times.

The first, incidentally, was Severus Snape, the summer before second year. It had been a fast, quick, childish peck while playing in the grass, and never spoken of again.

The second was with Ralph Waters. He'd tried to stick his tongue down her throat during lunch, on a dare. This had resulted in Lily getting very embarrassed and angry, and Ralph getting pumpkin juice poured over his head. Needless to say, they didn't swap spit ever again.

The third was a bit more complicated. The boy in question, Caradoc Dearborn, was three years older and a seventh year at the time. She'd been a lowly fourteen year old, just growing into her newly-sprouted bust and hips. He'd taken her to Hogsmeade, much to James' chagrin, and they'd gone to Puddifoot's. After, on the walk back up to the castle, he'd kissed her. She'd been awkward, and his hand strayed too low. He'd been mature and taken her the rest of the way back up to the castle, but this too had been the end of their budding relationship.

The fourth… well, Lily didn't know exactly what to do or how to explain the fourth.

Secretly, James' lips had always been a bit of an obsession with Lily. Through the grapevine and numerous overheard bathroom conversations, Lily had heard the unanimous agreement: James Potter was a first-class kisser.

If you actually looked at his lips, in a purely scientific, indifferent way, they were nothing special. They were pink, soft but occasionally chapped in the winter months. They were, in essence, average, slightly-thin boy lips.

That was what had stumped Lily the most. To her knowledge, she didn't think his tongue was anything special either. How could he be considered such a god of snogging when his lips were so (uncharacteristic to the rest of him)… ordinary?

But she understood now. _Oh_, did she understand.

When James kissed you, he didn't just _kiss _you. No, no, it was so much more then that. It was as if he had jam-packed in every single thing that made you beautiful and amazing and _worthwhile _and made you feel them all at once.

He kissed like he flew, passionately and fully.

Unfortunately, Lily felt her stomach turn at the prospect of other girls feeling that same special feeling. The side effects of a James kiss.

She flung the covers off her body, letting the heat in between the blankets out and making her immediately freezing.

_Good. _She thought, shivering as she made her way over to the dresser. _This is even better then a cold shower._

* * *

By the time Lily collected herself and walked down to the common room, James Potter was sitting cross-legged on the floor, holding a red-and-green wrapped present in his hands.

His hair was pleasantly tousled, Lily noted. In that way that was rather like he just rolled out of bed (as he was still in pajamas from the previous night), not like it was hit by a hurricane (which it often looked like). Very black. Very soft...

"Good morning." He said when he saw her.

She subconsciously licked her lips. He grinned.

She felt like kicking herself.

_Cool it, Evans!_

She tiptoed gingerly through the mess of wrapping paper on the floor, and sat in the large, cushioned leather chair.

He looked at her expectantly. "Well, aren't you going to open yours?"

"I've got presents?" She asked excitedly, despite herself.

He nodded.

She slid off the chair and down to where he was sitting on the floor, dangerously close to him, in her opinion. He handed her a package that had been sitting to his left.

Their hands briefly brushed, sending shivers down the spines of both teenagers involved in the exchange.

Looking for something to do, she started opening the card taped on top of the present.

"You actually read the card?" James said bemusedly.

"Of course. Don't you?"

He scoffed. "Well, yeah, but usually you open the present first."

Now it was Lily's turn to scoff. "What? You open the card first. So you can know who it's from!"

"Who wants to open a boring card when there's a present sitting in front of them!"

"Shut up." She said, ripping the brown paper off the package.

In total, Lily received presents from her mother and father, a half-assed card from Petunia, Mary, Marlene, and her grandmother. James, however, had a mountain of presents from his parents, and then various Zonkos and Quidditch supplies from the other Marauders.

During the aftermath of unwrapping, they sat in a mess of wrapping paper, still in their pajamas. James stretched out his legs luxuriously, letting his arms stretch over his head.

Lily's eyes stayed on his biceps a little too long to go unnoticed.

"So, what will we do today?" Lily asked uncomfortably, almost _hearing _the unspoken "on our last day."

"Thought you might take me up on that offer to go play dress up." He said with a wide smile.

* * *

That's how James found himself wearing a mis-matched checked suit and obnoxious tie, underneath the only non-school robes he owned, standing next to an equally unattractively dressed Lily Evans.

She ran a hand through her hair and stood back, looking him over.

She laughed. "My, don't you look…"

He stuck his hip out. "Speechless at the sight of my beauty, Evans?"

"Sure, Potter. What about me?" She asked, spinning around in a circle. She wore a bright red dress, clashing humorously badly with her red hair, and a terribly ugly red hat. "Remind me again why I had to wear this? I told you, I never wear this dress, it clashes with my hair –"

"_Because_. It's Christmas! Have you ever been to Hogsmeade on Christmas?"

She looked at him incredulously.

"Right, never mind. Anyway, it's beautiful! But, unfortunately, if we look anything like ourselves, they'll send us back and we'll have to answer to Dumbledore. And I think that'll be a bit of a damper on the festivities, yeah?"

She tugged robes over her dress. "Alright. Lead the way."

* * *

And so, after an uncomfortable lunch, the two Hogwarts students set off out of the Gryffindor tower and down to the first floor.

As they walked in the dark passageway, James and Lily stayed on opposite sides of the tunnel.

He could practically feel warmth radiating off of her. Things were so… _awkward _since last night. All he wanted to do was sneak into some secluded alley and snog her senseless.

Again.

Lily, despite being cavalier last night, had retracted into shy and tentative. This completely threw James.

He'd dealt with her hatred, he'd been the cause of her anger, he'd felt her wrath, he'd watched her happiness from afar, he'd seen laughter… but Lily? Shy? What was he supposed to do with that?

He wanted to say something funny, or charming, or even scandalous, just to make conversation. But his throat felt dry, and the only thing on his mind was the feeling of her lips moving against his._  
_

Besides the quick exchange after they'd changed, the walk and morning had been filled with awkward silences and forced conversation.

It was maddening to him. Lily was anything but quiet. Sure, she was organized and studious and a bit anal retentive about certain things, but everything else about her was simply _fiery_.

* * *

He felt her small hand brush his, rousing him from his pondering and making him practically jumped a foot in the air.

The dim light at the end of the tunnel was near. Lily gingerly stepped into the cellar, James following close behind. As soon as the two passed out of the tunnel, the opening sealed itself up again.

The two crept up the stairs, quickly through the store (where the owner was currently helped a younger girl reach the acid pops) and out into the street.

James watched as Lily tilted her head up and took in her surroundings. He did the same.

Hogsmeade at Christmas was one of his favorite things. He'd only been once before, with his parents to go to the re-opening of one of the shops on the North side. The streets, ledges and roofs were now covered in newly fallen snow. Along the street, wreaths and other decorations occupied all doors to the shops and pubs. White Christmas lights were strung up along the walk, blending in with a light-gray sky. Seemingly incasing the village were monumental pine trees, sagging under the weight of the snow on their branches.

"You're right." Lily breathed from beside him. "It's beautiful."

He looked down at her, and her green eyes smiled up at him.

He couldn't resist grabbing her hand. "Come on. Let's go explore."

"Why are we shopping?" Lily suddenly asked as they entered Dervish & Banges' Joke Shop. "Christmas was yesterday."

"Irrelevant." James said nonchalantly, walking past the display of the different types of Sneakoscopes.

"Yeah but – oh!" She said suddenly, whipping around and grabbing his shoulders.

"What?" James exclaimed bewilderedly.

"I didn't get you a Christmas present, and I'm assuming you didn't get me one. So… why don't we look around today, and then exchange gifts when we get back to Hogwarts?"

"Lily, you don't have to –"

"I want to. And you don't have to get me something. But we're…"

She stopped abruptly, and so did he.

"…friends," She finished uncertainly. "And I get my friends Christmas presents. _So_, I'll see you in two hours."

He was about to say something else, before she turned and said, "And don't spend too much money! Really!"

With a parting smile, James watched her red hair flash and disappear from the shop.

* * *

Lily stood in the middle of Zonko's Joke Shop, looking around dazedly. The shop was filled with buzzing and honks, bright objects wizzing around in the air and strange smells bubbling from cauldrons across the counter.

Suddenly, she felt a pair of hands squeeze her hips, and she yelped loudly. Turning around preparing to yell at the perpetrator, she found herself locked with hazel eyes.

"James!"

"What?"

She stood, arms crossed, and glared at him. "That scared me! Go away, I haven't bought you a present yet."

He held his hands up. "Honestly, the only thing I want for Christmas is what I got yesterday. Or a written statement that you don't hate me. Whichever." He said. "Plus, I'm bored."

She laughed, even though she noticed him bringing up Christmas Eve. He was obviously talking about the kiss…

"Go away!" She said, shooing him out of the shop.

When she turned back around, an old woman with a light pink shawl and ratty hat was smiling kindly at her. Lily smiled politely back.

"Your husband is very attractive." The woman suddenly said.

Lily snorted loudly, but tried to cover herself.

"Oh, um, thanks…" She replied, still aghast at the statement. Lily Potter? That was the most preposterous thing she'd ever heard. "But see, we're not -"

"He really loves you. You two are such a great couple." The woman said.

Lily froze. James? _Love_ her?

"W-we fight like mad, actually." She blurted out. That was, of course, true. Lily couldn't understand why she'd said it, why she was still speaking to this woman.

The old woman smiled knowingly. "There's a mighty thin line between hate and love, my dear."

* * *

Lily spotted James on the North side of Hogsmeade, as the sky was darkening above them. The lights strung along the street began to shine in the darkish blue sky. Children clutching their parents' hands made their way home, their cheeks pink and their faces smiling.

The two, still wearing their disguise, started walking back to Honeydukes, both holding opaque bags by their sides.

Through the passageway, the only sounds were the clacking of their shoes against the hard ground, and their soft breathing echoing off the walls.

Almost half-way through, Lily felt a warm hand grasp hers, and shivers went up her spine.

They entered the castle, hands still intertwined.

* * *

James and Lily, now changed into their comfortable clothes, sat on the floor in the middle of the common room. Both held the other's presents behind their backs, smiling at the other.

He, unfortunately, looked too attractive, in her opinion. Wearing a white T-shirt (clinging to him in all the right places), the untied tie slung around his neck, and a pair of pants, and socks... Lily felt herself become self-conscious about her thick sweater and shapeless sweatpants.

"So. You first!" James said excitedly. He had the same look that she remembered her cousin Timothy having on his fourth birthday when she'd gone home during the summer. She laughed inwardly.

Lily rolled her eyes, and flicked her red hair out of her face.

"Alright, fine." She said, huffing. She plunked a large bag in front of James.

He tore through what seemed like pounds of tissue paper before coming to a small box. Taking the lid off carefully, the box contained a single slip of paper.

He dropped the box and unfolded the paper carefully. It read,

* * *

I, Lily Kate Evans, do _**not**_ hate James Charlus Potter.

* * *

He barked a laugh, and she dissolved into light giggles.

"Well thank you." He said between laughs, reaching up and rumpling his hair. "I'm holding you to this, you know!"

She sat up straighter. "Ok, now me! What'd you get me?"

James turned his back and the noise of rustling paper overpowered the faint crackling of fire. Extracting something, he turned back and looked at her. He held out a thick, black box.

She took it carefully, ignoring the suspicion that this very well could be a prank. Half-expecting something to pop out at her, she opened the box.

Inside was a beautiful green emerald stone on simple silver chain.

Her breath caught in her throat.

"Well?" He asked nervously, shifting as his hand flew back to ruffle his hair. "D-do you like it?"

"I can't except this." Lily suddenly said, snapping the box shut and holding it out to him.

"Yes, you can. It's for you." James insisted, pushing it back towards her.

"No really –"

"Hush." James said, taking the box back from Lily suddenly. Instead of putting it away, as she'd hoped, he took the necklace out of the box.

He stood up, holding the necklace gently between his fingers, and kneeled behind her.

Before she could say anything else, she felt his rough hand move her hair off her neck.

Her protestation died in her throat.

"I'm sorry. I know you didn't want me to spend too much money. And really, I didn't. But I saw it and it reminded me of your eyes. So… beautifully green…" He whispered in her ear.

She felt the cold of the necklace hit her chest.

* * *

Before he knew what he was thinking, he turned her face to him and kissed her.

Her lips were intoxicating, he was sure of it. The way Lily kissed was simply _perfect_. This, unlike the first kiss, was a little shier, a little more tentative.

Though Merlin was she _perfect_. And there it was again, the feeling like nothing would ever be quite as good as she was.

But all too soon, she broke away. His eyes found hers.

Blimey, the necklace was almost the same color. He really hadn't meant to buy it in the first place. He found himself staring at it while leaving a shop somewhere on the south side, and he bought it on a whim.

It made her eyes look greener, if that was possible. Like… a forest. A beautiful, green, never-ending forst.

Suddenly, Lily said, "Jeez Potter, ever wash your socks?"

He stared down at them, and back to her.

* * *

_What? _She thought to herself. She'd been looking for something to say, something to stop herself from traveling the way steep, slippery slope she was steadily going down.

_But really? That's the first thing you say after a kiss that made you tingle down to your toes?_

Luckily, James looked artificially unphased.

"Hey. These are truly not that bad. You should see Peter's." He said. He looked uncomfortably in the distance for a moment, as if recalling said socks. He moved away from her and settled back on the floor.

The corners of her mouth shot upwards without her even thinking about it.

She wanted to kick herself. Every time (and by that, she meant twice) James kissed her, she felt lightheaded and dizzy and tingly and like she was about to swoon.

She _hated _feeling that way. Out of control.

"Of course, Remus' are always perfect. Always matched and clean. Merlin, I swear, it looks like he _ironed _them." James said.

Slightly jolted, Lily felt a little jealous. Then again, she always had been a little jealous of the Marauders. If not only because of their complete lack of discipline and rules resulting in passing grades, but also because of the bond they seemed to possess. Sirius and James especially seemed to communicate through their eyes, as if not needing words. The four of them were like brothers, running around the school as if they owned it. They always had each other's backs, and they always seemed like no matter what, they always had each other.

Since Lily's friendship with Snape had gone from deteriorating to completely cut off at the end of fifth year (from Snape being provoked by the Marauders themselves, "funnily" enough), she'd been slightly forced to make friends with the girls in her dorm. Not that they hadn't always been acquaintances, you can't really help at least the occasional bonding experience with girls you live with almost year-round, but she'd never made an effort before. And although she appreciated and loved Marlene and Mary, she knew they'd never have a friendship quite like the Marauders.

"But you know Remus. Always has to have everything in its place, everything clean. He's sort of crazy about that sort of thing. Though I guess you are too, yeah?" He teased, poking her side lightly.

Lily huffed. "I didn't know there was a problem with liking order. There's something reassuring with everything having its place."

He leaned in a little closer, their faces too close for Lily's comfort. His hair flopped attractively over his forehead.

He smelled _good_.

_He needs to back away. Otherwise I might attack him._

_Lily! Move!_

But she couldn't move.

_You're turning into a right slag, you know that?_

"See, that's your problem Evans." James said. "You're afraid of messes."

She was taken aback. She cleared her throat. "What?"

"You like to have everything in its place. You like to keep control, you never seem to let loose and just have fun. You follow the rules a little too much."

She felt inflamed. How dare he?

"Potter, there's nothing wrong with following the rules." She said sharply. "Those who follow the rules are mature."

"They also have no fun." He countered.

She felt her fists clench. The familiar feeling from years before of fighting with James settled in the pit of her stomach.

_Of course _he_would say that._

"The rules are there to be followed! Rules are set so that people don't get hurt!" She felt herself screaming. His face began to show anger as well. "So you can sit there and pretend that you know so much about me, but you don't!"

He looked up as if she'd sent an entire mountain crashing down on him. "Merlin Evans, I wasn't trying to pick a fight!"

"You always are! You constantly make me angry!"

"What's wrong with that? You infuriate me sometimes too! That's what makes us… us!" He shouted back.

The two of them were now standing, faces red, fists clenched, staring angrily at each other. Lily felt the irritating prickling feeling she hadn't felt… well, since fifth year.

"I'm not afraid of messes! I don't like _assholes _who think they can get away with breaking rules and cutting class and pranking people and acting like they're gods, walking among us mortals!" She yelled back.

"Oh, that's rich!" He shouted. "What about you? Miss Prim-and-Proper, teacher's pet, doing everything _perfect_! You act like you're too good for everyone, that you're _better_! _You _call _me_ arrogant, when really it's _you _who's the stuck-up one!"

His face suddenly contorted into shock, hand flying up again to his hair. She felt like she was going to throw up.

He was about to speak, but she cut him off loudly.

"See, Potter? We couldn't even go _five days _without a fight! Without you insulting me! And that's why I will never, ever, _ever _be with you!" She spat out.

The room suddenly went silent.

Lily had broken unspoken bond between them. It was like… everything was ok as long as nothing was out in the open. Neither had mentioned the bet, nor what would happen after the set time had ended.

She felt the unparalleled need to cry. Ripping the necklace off spitefully, she threw the emerald to the ground before turning and running up to her room.

* * *

_Oh Lily, what's the matter with you? _She thought, letting herself drop onto the bed.

_You've let him win._

Two kisses from James Potter and she was reduced to a puddle of what used to be strong, confident Lily Evans.

Yes, alright, ok, she _liked _him now. But what would happen when the real world started for them both again? What would happen when Remus and Peter and Marlene and Mary and Severus came back to Hogwarts? And what about her mum and her dad and Petunia and his parents and Voldemort and war and exams and everything else came back as well?

She'd fallen for him in a world without any… _stuff_, during a suspension of reality.

But reality would return. She'd get her heat stomped on.

She'd forgotten who he was. He was the boy who'd taunted her, and Sev for _years_.

_That wasn't fair to him for you to bring that up. It's his _past_. He said he's not proud of it._

_But he did it. Those sort of things don't just disappear. He's still the same arrogant prat._

_He's not._

_He is._

_He isn't!_

_Why else would he have said those things?_

His words cut through her like a knife.

"…_You call me arrogant, when really it's you who's the stuck-up one!"_

Burrowing under the covers, she hugged her knees to her chest.

Tomorrow everyone would be getting back. She'd see her friends and go back to classes and normalcy. The bet would be over. She wouldn't have to spend time with him. Not even see him at all.

"Lily?" She heard faintly through her door. Her stomach dropped at the sound of his deep, hushed voice.

"I'm sorry for what I said. I hope we can talk in the morning." His voice called. There was a brief pause before she vaguely heard feet on stairs, and then a door shutting.

The tears were now streaming down her cheeks. She felt like a fool.

_I'll talk to him tomorrow. I at least owe him that. _She told herself, even as her fists curled again at the prospect of talking to him right now.

Sucking in her anger and closing her eyes, she forced herself to sleep.

* * *

**Review pleeeeeease?**


	7. The Winner

**A/N: **And I'm done! Dear Merlin. It's so late and I just finished editing this and I can barely keep my eyes open anymore, but it's finished. This is the last chapter of "Five Days".

I just wanted to say that I've had a lot of fun writing this fic, working on my writing and letting out some James/Lily OTP feels (you know).

Also, I'd like to say the biggest, most extravagant, most **THANK YOU** to everyone that reviewed and has read and favorited this. It's so exciting and inspiring to know that people really enjoy what I'm writing. Especially those that have reviewed every single chapter (you guys are amazing!)

I hope you all enjoyed, and enjoy the last chapter!

* * *

**The Winner**

* * *

James' heart felt heavy when he woke up the next day. All of the fight had been kicked out of him, and he just felt sad.

Over the years, he'd received more than his fair share of hurled insults and biting retorts from the girl he'd built up to be the love of his life (and actually found that it was true over the past five days), though the spat they had last night was one of the fights that affected him the most.

Didn't she see that that's why they belonged together in the first place? That all the passion she put into fighting and yelling and _hating _was the passion she had for kissing and laughing and _loving? _That she was the only girl he ever wanted, and he was the only boy that could ever really make her _feel_?

He felt frustrated. He hadn't really meant to poke at her. But it quickly slid into metaphorical meanings, and suddenly it wasn't just about socks anymore.

He sighed, turning over in bed. He honestly wasn't sure what today would bring. Technically, the obligations of their deal ended yesterday, and from Lily's proclamations the previous night, he didn't think the odds were in his favor.

Sitting up slowly and letting the covers fall from his chest, he sighed again. At least he had the memories.

He'd kissed her. He'd shared secrets and laughs with her. He supposed that would have to be enough.

Though he did feel rather guilty about what he said, he was also rather cut up in regards to the things she'd said. Yes, yes, of course he'd been arrogant, mean, spiteful, bullying, and a multitude of other synonyms, but in the past two years he'd really tried to fix that.

James opened the bed curtains and stood up. Thinking back on the year so far, he couldn't remember one instance when he'd maliciously pranked another thing, much less human.

When the Slytherins had taunted him and his friends, he'd only ignored it. When Sirius barreled through the door with newly bought Zonko's supplies and a floor plan, he'd stayed out of it. When Severus Snape tried to provoke him in the corridors and start a duel, he'd responded in a clipped tone and _walked away_. Couldn't she see that?

He brushed his teeth haphazardly, and considered running a comb through his hair (but the verdict was always the same: why bother trying to tame it when it was only going to stick straight up again within seconds?). He then padded back into the bedroom, where Sirius' bed curtains were omitting faint rustling noises.

Threading a tie around his neck, he absentmindedly inwardly grumbled about the idea of having to wear full uniforms again. The rest of the students who'd left for the holidays would be arriving sometime around lunch, if they were lucky. Breakfast would be sparse this morning, as the house elves were preparing for the others. He doubted that anyone would have even bothered to eat that morning, as the lunch after Christmas break was famous, only second to the Welcome feast at the start of the year.

He checked his watch, seeing that the time was already 11:30 AM.

Buttoning up his white dress shirt and then the rest of his uniform (sans robes, as he was just staying in the castle today), he picked up his wand off the table next to his bed, and left the dorm.

Walking down to the common room felt rather like a death sentence, he mused. What exactly was he going to say to her? He hadn't really thought about it. He wasn't even sure if she would hear him out.

The thought of not even _speaking_ to Lily made his stomach hurt. After all that they'd shared, after all he'd learned about her, after even _kissing _her, how was he supposed to let it all get away? This was Lily Evans for Merlin's sake.

* * *

Lily sat, fully clothed and groomed, at the top of the staircase. She'd gotten ready leisurely, enjoying her last hours with the girls dorm all to herself. She'd been all ready, and now couldn't bring herself to walk down the flight of steps and out of the room.

She was a Gryffindor! She was Lily sodding Evans, for Christ's sake! She wasn't afraid of anything, least of all _James Potter_!

_Yet here you are, still sitting here after what feels like hours, afraid to step outside._

She huffed angrily at herself, pushing off the ground and standing up.

But instead of leaving the room, she turned around and sat down at the edge of her bed, closing the previously open door behind her.

"What's happened to you Evans?" She asked out loud to herself.

"Lily?" She heard James' voice say from behind the door. She glared at the piece of wood angrily, but said nothing. "Are you awake? I was hoping we could talk?"

She bit her lip. She _should _hear him out.

But still, she said nothing.

She listened to him exhale loudly. "Look, Lily, I know you're awake. I'm not stupid."

All but growling, she got off the bed, opened the door, and descended down the stairs. At the bottom, James Potter was standing, hands in his pockets, looking up at her.

Stepping down hard from the last step, she fully entered the room.

The two blinked at each other, before James coughed.

"Hi." He said.

"Hi." She said incredulously.

His hand crept up and ran through his hair.

She had a quick fantasy of cutting all of it off in his sleep. Stupid berk.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about what I said. It wasn't nice." He said. After he finished, he looked at her expectantly.

"Ok." Lily said spitefully.

He stared at her. "Aren't you going to say anything?"

"Why would I apologize? It's true, what I said." Lily said angrily, not really meaning it.

James huffed, annoyed. "Well, what I said was true as well, it just wasn't nice."

Lily's jaw tightened, but she held back her remark. She didn't feel like getting in a shouting match with him so seemingly early in the morning. Besides, she needed to save her patience for when the rest of the school arrived, and term fully started again.

After a pause, James said, "It's the sixth day."

This caught Lily. She didn't think he was going to mention the deadline, but now that he did she had no choice but to acknowledge it. "The bet is done."

"Who won?"

The question hung in the air. It floated between them, filling up in the space around the two.

She didn't know what to say. James stared at her, eyes filled with a range of different emotions that washed over her like a tidal wave.

"Um…" She started. She couldn't finish.

And so she did what she always did.

She bolted.

* * *

That's how Lily found herself sitting on the floor between the stacks at the library that morning (which wasn't even open, mind you, so technically she was breaking and entering). It was the only place she could think of that James wouldn't go, even if it was closed.

She let her head fall back onto the wall of the castle. She knew it was late (ish) in the day, and that if students hadn't already returned, the train would be close by now. Mary and Marlene might be worried if she wasn't in the dorms when they arrived, but she couldn't bring herself to move from her secluded spot.

She couldn't deal with this. She couldn't deal with _anything_, much less the fact that the bet was over and it was essentially her move.

Would it be so bad if she lost? What was at stake?

_My dignity, maybe?_ She thought.

_But consider your options. You could either be "right" and "win", and not even be _friends_ with him anymore…_

_Or admit you're wrong, and get to be with the boy who makes your palms sweat and knees go slack, who makes you want to jump into his arms every time you see him, the boy who kisses you like you're the only thing that matters._

The realization should have hit her like a ton of bricks.

But it didn't. She had to stop kidding herself. It wasn't like the feelings (yes, now they'd matured and grown from semi-feelings to full out _feelings_) had come out of nowhere. If she was being honest with herself, she'd been fighting and pushing down the _feelings _for the better part of this year (possibly even subconsciously longer).

It was him. It was always him. No surprise, no questions, and no doubt. It was him.

* * *

"James!" Peter Pettigrew's voice squeaked through the archway.

James turned and saw his friends approaching, carrying suitcases and other bags, with Sirius in tow. The short and stout blond boy was lugging a heavy-looking bag behind him.

He forced a smile. "Hey Pete. How were your holidays?"

Peter groaned. "Terrible, actually. Boring as dirt, no one except my mum and my cousin who wets the bed. Glad to be back though."

"Remus, what about you?"

Flicking his light brown hair out of his eyes, Remus Lupin smiled back at his friend. "You know, the usual. It was only my mum and I as well, lucky this week didn't include the full moon. Her fussing over me is rather kind, though sometimes it gets a little much." He said.

Sirius, excited to see the both of them, grabbed Remus' bag and started up the stairs, along with the wave of other students returning to their dorms.

Peter and Remus dropped their stuff down, and the four boys took off for the Great Hall.

"So, how're things with Lily? How's the bet going?" Peter asked cheerily. James had shared his plans with the boys before things had even happened, insisting how he was going to win and that by the time they came back from the holidays, he'd have his "flower".

Sirius stared pointedly at him, shooting him a clear _"don't ask"._

After a pause, James exhaled.

"It's over." He mumbled. "I don't know how things are. I don't think I won, though, so I won't be seeing much of her anytime soon."

A silence fell over the boys as they entered the hall and prepared to eat. Out of habit, James scanned the room for a head of red hair. There wasn't one.

* * *

Lily practically flew out of the library doors. She knew what she needed to do.

She ran through the half-empty halls, ignoring the calls of "watch where you're going!". She ran until she reached the Great Hall.

Pausing in front of the doors, she had a miniature moment of panic.

_You can't do this! Everything's going to go wrong! You're a complete idiot._

She shook the thoughts out of her head vigorously.

_Screw it._

She walked straight into the hall, pushing open both doors with force.

James Potter sat at the Gryffindor table, sandwiched between Sirius and Remus, moving around the food on his plate tiredly with his fork.

The doors made a loud thump as they closed, and practically everyone turned towards the noise.

Looking into hazel eyes the entire time, Lily strode across the room, past Mary and Marlene and many confused looking younger-year students. The entire hall was silent.

Stopping in front of him, she heard his breath catch in his throat. He looked as if he was about to say something, so she interrupted.

"I lose." She whispered, closing the gap between them.

And in front of everyone in the Great Hall, Lily Evans kissed James Potter.

"Blimey!"

"Ay, get a room!"

"I'm going to lose my lunch!"

"Lily, what the bloody hell?"

"Miss Evans, please stop kissing Mr. Potter, this is completely inappropriate!"

Pulling away from him with a _smack_, she watched his mouth form into a large grin.

And in that moment, no one else mattered. Not Marlene nor Mary nor Severus nor Remus nor Peter nor Sirius nor even _McGonagall_, who was currently pressing her lips into a hard white line though looking as if she was trying very hard not to smile.

Just James Potter. Just James.

Just him.

* * *

His heart felt like it was going to jump out of his chest. Lily pulled away from him, wearing a nervous smile on her face, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

Bloody hell, had she really just snogged him in front of everyone? In front of the entire Great Hall?

_His Lily._

To be honest, he didn't know if she'd actually fall for him during the five days allotted for the bet.

He supposed he should have pondered things a little more, considering that the stakes were so high (particularly if she won, he didn't see how he'd survive truly leaving her alone). And yes, he knew that it wasn't actually possible that she'd fallen in _true love _with him after only the five days, no matter how they seemed like five years.

But she'd given him a chance. And in the end, they'd both won.

* * *

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